Obituaries

Ed Kravitz was a pioneer in interdisciplinary neuroscience, a leader in education and a steadfast advocate for inclusion. He passed away on 21 September 2025 at the age of 92.

A pioneer in oculomotor neuroscience, Edward L. Keller identified key elements of the brainstem circuits that produce eye movements and provided the foundation for decades of research on neural control of gaze. He passed away on 4 July 2025.

Eleanor Maguire was a visionary cognitive neuroscientist whose research transformed our understanding of how the brain supports memory, navigation, and imagination.

A founding father of neuroscience.

Lynn T. Landmesser, professor emerita of the Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, died on 29 November 2024 at the age of 80. In an illustrious and influential career that spanned more than four decades, she established central principles by which the complex and specific wiring of the vertebrate nervous system is established.

Ernest Arenas, Professor at the Karolinska Institutet, passed away on 15 September 2024 at the age of 62 in Stockholm, Sweden. Ernest made unique contributions to the field of Parkinson’s disease research, with a strong commitment to developing improved treatment strategies through cell replacement therapy.

What follows is not a detailed biography of Jim Simons, whose diversity of talents and activities as a mathematician, educator, administrator, life scientist, philanthropist and visionary in this country and abroad would fill several volumes. It is simply a glance at this wonderful man as I knew him in connection with his growing interest in life sciences and as a friend.

George Aghajanian died on July 4, 2023 in Guildford, Connecticut, at the age of 91. An electrophysiologist and innovator, George was a much-loved mentor, colleague and friend. His laboratory captured the first in vivo recordings of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine neurons. For over half a century, George’s research at the Yale University School of Medicine opened new fields of discovery in neuroscience.

Bud Craig, an outstanding neuroscientist, died on 15 July 2023 at age 71. Bud made unique contributions to the fields of pain and interoception, challenging major dogmas and offering powerful explanations for various phenomena including central pain and the subjective awareness of feelings, with great implications for our understanding of consciousness.