Steve Ramirez

Steve Ramirez (born 1988) is a neuroscientist whose professional career centers around the manipulation of the brain's physical properties.

Ramirez graduated from Boston University in 2010 and later earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience from MIT while working in the lab of Susumu Tonegawa.

Early life Ramirez was born in Massachusetts to Salvadoran immigrants and grew up in Everett, Massachusetts. His parents, older brother, and sister escaped wartime El Salvador towards the end of the 1970s and came to the United States. In his early teens, Ramirez's cousin experienced atrophy and coma during childbirth, which influenced Ramirez's curiosity on the topic of neuroscience, and the ability to physically manipulate brain chemistry. Ramirez and Liu also gave a TED Talk in which they discussed their research. Ramirez expressed how he was manipulating the brain cells of mice to respond to pulses of light and manipulate their memories. He was aiming to make this process accessible to humans as well to treat mental illness.

Awards

2014 Smithsonian American Ingenuity award along with his associate Xu Liu, PhD., for their work on artificial reaction and creation of memories Featured in Forbes' 30 under 30 in 2015, being recognized among young influential scientists 2019 National Institutes of Health Director's Transformative Research Award alongside Christine Ann Denny, Ph.D. 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

Selected publications