About Dr. Cristina Alberini
Professor Alberini has dedicated her career to uncovering the molecular bases of learning and memory. Her studies, utilizing invertebrate (Aplysia californica) and mammalian (rat and mouse) systems, have investigated the mechanisms of long-term memory formation, stabilization, persistence and strengthening in adulthood as well as early developmental ages. The identification of the mechanisms underlying the disruption or enhancement of memories is important for understanding memory in physiological conditions but also for elucidating memory disorders. In recognition for her work, Cristina has received the NIH MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) Award, the McKnight Foundation Cognitive and Memory Disorders Award, the Hirschl-Weill Career Scientist Award, the NARSAD Independent Investigator Award, the Premio ATENA, and the Golgi Medal. She graduated with Honors from the University of Pavia in Italy and went on to obtain her Doctorate in Research in Immunological Sciences from the University of Genoa. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship work on long-term synaptic plasticity consolidation in Aplysia californica at Columbia University. Cristina Alberini has previously held faculty positions at Brown University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and is currently a Professor of Neural Science at New York University.
About the Professorship
The Jacob K. Javits Visiting Professorship at NYU was established in 2008 with generous support from The Marian B. and Jacob K. Javits Foundation and its President and Chief Executive Officer, Marian B. Javits. The Professorship honors the memory and accomplishments of the four- term US Republican Senator from New York, the late Honorable Jacob K. Javits, an alumnus of the NYU School of Law, and perpetuates the values and intellectual integrity for which he stood. The Visiting Professorship is awarded to a distinguished individual—an academic, lawyer, policymaker, journalist, historian, philosopher, or former elected official—whose work focuses on an issue close to the Senator’s interests. These areas include: health, civil rights, labor, foreign policy, rights of individuals with disabilities, education, and fairness in employment and economic security for working Americans.