{{Short description|Neuroscientist}} '''Steve Ramirez''' (born 1988) is a neuroscientist whose professional career centers around the manipulation of the brain's physical properties.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Steve Ramirez |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/innovator/steve-ramirez/ |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=MIT Technology Review |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Through his work, Ramirez aims to find methods of relief for symptoms of mental health disorders through the use of optogenetics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Steve Ramirez |url=https://explorer-directory.nationalgeographic.org/steve-ramirez |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=explorer-directory.nationalgeographic.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-20 |title=Steve Ramirez, Ph.D. |url=https://bbrfoundation.org/about/people/steve-ramirez-phd |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=Steve Ramirez, Ph.D. {{!}} Brain & Behavior Research Foundation |language=en}}</ref>
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.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Steve Ramirez Reshapes Memories in the Brains of Mice |url=https://www.the-scientist.com/scientist-to-watch/steve-ramirez-reshapes-memories-in-the-brains-of-mice-70633 |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=The Scientist Magazine® |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-02-04 |title=Emerging Scholar Profile: Ramirez Finds That Relationships Remain Key in Psychological and Brain Sciences |url=https://www.diverseeducation.com/latest-news/article/15101949/emerging-scholar-profile-ramirez-finds-that-relationships-remain-key-in-psychological-and-brain-sciences |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=Diverse: Issues In Higher Education |language=en-us}}</ref>
== 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |title=The 30 Top Thinkers Under 30: Steve Ramirez, 26, Neuroscience |language=en |work=Pacific Standard |url=https://psmag.com/social-justice/30-top-thinkers-30-neuroscience-hollywood-professor-wants-erase-memories-76417 |access-date=2023-11-06}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":2" /> He later attended high school in Massachusetts.
Ramirez attended college at Boston University in Massachusetts where he was trying to find an academic field that suited him. His girlfriend at the time suggested to Ramirez that he should seek guidance from the head of department of the neuroscience program at Boston University. Ramirez agreed, and began to be mentored by the head of department, where he developed a passion for the field of work and found a community among the members of the program. When Ramirez and his girlfriend broke up, he was inspired to see if he could change the feelings behind those memories while keeping the memory intact.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=Steve Ramirez: If We Could Erase Memories ... Should We? |url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/557428061 |website=TED RADIO HOUR |publisher=NPR |publication-date=October 13, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":1" />
Throughout the rest of his education, Ramirez decided to focus his studies on the neuroscience of memory, which began the path of his career and achievements.<ref name=":1" /> After graduating from college in 2010, Ramirez joined the lab of Susumu Tonegawa where he continued his studies, and eventually earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience. Ramirez's earliest scientific work occurred with the help of his mentor, Xu Liu, who Ramirez attributes much of his achievements to, and claims that Liu taught him many skills necessary for their work.<ref name=":0" />
== Career == Steve Ramirez is known for his studies on memory where he went on to publish six research articles under Tonegawa Susumu's lab.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /> In 2013, Ramirez collaborated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which studied how false memories can be formed in the hippocampus.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ramirez |first1=Steve |last2=Liu |first2=Xu |last3=Lin |first3=Pei-Ann |last4=Suh |first4=Junghyup |last5=Pignatelli |first5=Michele |last6=Redondo |first6=Roger L. |last7=Ryan |first7=Tomás J. |last8=Tonegawa |first8=Susumu |date=2013-07-26 |title=Creating a False Memory in the Hippocampus |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1239073 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=341 |issue=6144 |pages=387–391 |doi=10.1126/science.1239073 |issn=0036-8075|hdl=1721.1/85964 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":9" />His current work revolves around eliminating bad memories and enhancing good ones to aid people suffering from PTSD and depression.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explorer Home |url=https://explorers.nationalgeographic.org/directory/steve-ramirez |access-date=2026-02-06 |website=explorers.nationalgeographic.org |language=en}}</ref>
== Awards ==
* 2014 Smithsonian American Ingenuity award along with his associate Xu Liu, PhD., for their work on artificial reaction and creation of memories<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-10-27 |title=Xu Liu and Steve Ramirez win 2014 American Ingenuity Award |url=https://news.mit.edu/2014/xu-liu-and-steve-ramirez-win-2014-american-ingenuity-award-1027 |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=MIT News {{!}} Massachusetts Institute of Technology |language=en}}</ref> * Featured in Forbes' 30 under 30 in 2015, being recognized among young influential scientists<ref>{{Cite web |title=Steve Ramirez |url=https://explorer-directory.nationalgeographic.org/steve-ramirez |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=explorer-directory.nationalgeographic.org}}</ref> * 2019 National Institutes of Health Director's Transformative Research Award alongside Christine Ann Denny, Ph.D.<ref>{{Cite web |last=National Institutes of Health |title=2019 Awardees {{!}} NIH Common Fund |url=https://commonfund.nih.gov/TRA/recipients19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019111400/https://commonfund.nih.gov/TRA/recipients19 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 19, 2020 |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=commonfund.nih.gov}}</ref> * 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).<ref>{{Cite web |last=The White House |title=President Donald J. Trump Announces Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers – The White House |url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-announces-recipients-presidential-early-career-award-scientists-engineers/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208223555/https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-announces-recipients-presidential-early-career-award-scientists-engineers/ |archive-date=2019-12-08 |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov}}</ref>
== Selected publications ==
# <ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|pmid=22441246 |date=2012 |last1=Liu |first1=X. |last2=Ramirez |first2=S. |last3=Pang |first3=P. T. |last4=Puryear |first4=C. B. |last5=Govindarajan |first5=A. |last6=Deisseroth |first6=K. |last7=Tonegawa |first7=S. |title=Optogenetic stimulation of a hippocampal engram activates fear memory recall |journal=Nature |volume=484 |issue=7394 |pages=381–385 |doi=10.1038/nature11028 |pmc=3331914 }}</ref> # <ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|pmid=23888038 |date=2013 |last1=Ramirez |first1=S. |last2=Liu |first2=X. |last3=Lin |first3=P. A. |last4=Suh |first4=J. |last5=Pignatelli |first5=M. |last6=Redondo |first6=R. L. |last7=Ryan |first7=T. J. |last8=Tonegawa |first8=S. |title=Creating a false memory in the hippocampus |journal=Science |volume=341 |issue=6144 |pages=387–391 |doi=10.1126/science.1239073 |hdl=1721.1/85964 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> # <ref name=":4">{{cite journal|pmid=25162525 |date=2014 |last1=Redondo |first1=R. L. |last2=Kim |first2=J. |last3=Arons |first3=A. L. |last4=Ramirez |first4=S. |last5=Liu |first5=X. |last6=Tonegawa |first6=S. |title=Bidirectional switch of the valence associated with a hippocampal contextual memory engram |journal=Nature |volume=513 |issue=7518 |pages=426–430 |doi=10.1038/nature13725 |pmc=4169316 }}</ref> # <ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|pmid=26085274 |date=2015 |last1=Ramirez |first1=S. |last2=Liu |first2=X. |last3=MacDonald |first3=C. J. |last4=Moffa |first4=A. |last5=Zhou |first5=J. |last6=Redondo |first6=R. L. |last7=Tonegawa |first7=S. |title=Activating positive memory engrams suppresses depression-like behaviour |journal=Nature |volume=522 |issue=7556 |pages=335–339 |doi=10.1038/nature14514 |pmc=5583720 }}</ref> # <ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|pmid=29903960 |date=2018 |last1=Ramirez |first1=S. |title=Crystallizing a memory |journal=Science |volume=360 |issue=6394 |pages=1182–1183 |doi=10.1126/science.aau0043 }}</ref> # <ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|pmid=36163262 |date=2022 |last1=Shpokayte |first1=M. |last2=McKissick |first2=O. |last3=Guan |first3=X. |last4=Yuan |first4=B. |last5=Rahsepar |first5=B. |last6=Fernandez |first6=F. R. |last7=Ruesch |first7=E. |last8=Grella |first8=S. L. |last9=White |first9=J. A. |last10=Liu |first10=X. S. |last11=Ramirez |first11=S. |title=Hippocampal cells segregate positive and negative engrams |journal=Communications Biology |volume=5 |issue=1 |page=1009 |doi=10.1038/s42003-022-03906-8 |pmc=9512908 }}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Steve}} Category:Wikipedia Student Program Category:Living people Category:1988 births Category:Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers Category:American people of Salvadoran descent Category:Boston University alumni Category:American neuroscientists Category:People from Everett, Massachusetts Category:Scientists from Massachusetts Category:Hispanic and Latino American scientists