Michael Yartsev, the CV Starr Fellow and an associate research scholar in the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, has won the 2013 Eppendorf and Science Prize for Neurobiology for his essay, "Space Bats: Multidimensional Spatial Representation in the Bat." The $25,000 prize honors outstanding contributions to neurobiology research. Yartsev used an unusual animal model, the bat, to study the underlying neural mechanisms of spatial memory and navigation in the mammalian brain. His approach allowed for both a comparative examination of current hypotheses as well as insight into long-standing questions in the field. His work also underscores the potential benefits of using new animal models in neuroscience. Yartsev will receive the prize at the 2013 Society of Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.
