STONY BROOK, N.Y., April 28, 2009 — Stony Brook University Professor Gary G. Matthews was recently honored by the Biophysical Society in Boston where he received the Sir Bernard Katz Award for Excellence in Research in Exocytosis and Endocytosis.
Gary G. Matthews
Matthews’ research focused on how neurons in the brain communicate with each other at synapses, which are specialized contact points where chemical signals are sent from one cell to another. The release of these chemical signals at synapses is fundamental to the transmission of information in the brain. The 2009 Sir Bernard Katz Award was presented to Gary Matthews for his work on the basic principles that govern chemical neurotransmission, which provided the first glimpse of the underlying release mechanism in action. The research opened the door to detailed analysis of the dynamics of signal transmission at individual synapses.
Professor Matthews joined the Neurobiology and Behavior Department of Stony Brook in 1981. He has been the recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Preis award, Guggenheim and A.P. Sloan Fellowships, and the Brian Boycott Prize for excellence in retinal research. He and his wife, Karen Wexler, live in Old Field, New York.
