JacSue Kehoe

JacSue Kehoe (October 23, 1935 – June 25, 2019) was an American neuroscientist and neuroscience researcher. She spent decades working with the neurons of Aplysia californica, studying post-synaptic nerve response. Her mother was a former doctoral candidate turned English teacher. Her father was an employee of the Chrysler Corporation. The youngest of three, Kehoe and her family moved to Evansville, Indiana, for the duration of World War II for her father's work. at the Institut Marey. She began experimenting to identify the neurotransmitter that brought about postsynaptic potentials (PSP). In 1968 she and Philippe traveled to Cambridge on sabbatical, where they continued their research. Kehoe worked under Gabriel Horn in the anatomy department, who arranged for her to be admitted to High Table at King's College. At the time High Table was all male—Kehoe was the first visiting female academic to be granted access. Kehoe continued to travel the world, giving seminars and conferences on her discoveries, as well as performing her own experiments. She continued her research to identify the neurotransmitters used in Aplysia, turning her attention towards glutamate receptors in the late 20th century. In 2002 she and Philippe gave up their lab to other researchers, and moved their research to the lab of their colleagues, Alain Marty and Isabel Llano, in another part of Paris. As of 2017 Kehoe continued researching neurotransmitters and their effects.

Personal life In 1967 Kehoe married fellow researcher and French native Philippe Ascher. In the fall of 1968 she had her first son David. Her second son Ivan was born after she began working at Cold Spring. Until her death, she spent most of her life in Paris with her husband and their two children.

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