Sheila Nirenberg


Sheila Nirenberg is an American neuroscientist. She works in the field of neural coding, developing new kinds of prosthetic devices that can communicate directly with the brain, and new kinds of smart robots. She is a recipient of a MacArthur “genius” award
and has been the subject of, or featured in, several documentaries for her technology for treating blindness.
She is currently a professor at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and the founder of two startup companies, Bionic Sight LLC and Nirenberg Neuroscience LLC.

Early life and education

Nirenberg grew up in Westchester, United States. She attended the University of Albany where she gained a BA in psychology with a minor in English. She then undertook a PhD at Harvard University where she worked with Constance Cepko. Nirenberg's project focused on developing a new technique to kill specific cell types in the retina in order to understand their function.

Research career

Nirenberg stayed at Harvard University for her postdoctoral work before moving to the University of California, Los Angeles where she was assistant professor for six years.