THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY IS IRELAND'S LEADING BODY OF EXPERTS IN THE SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

The Royal Irish Academy/Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann champions research. We identify and recognise Ireland’s world class researchers. We support scholarship and promote awareness of how science and the humanities enrich our lives and benefit society. We believe that good research needs to be promoted, sustained and communicated. The Academy is run by a Council of its members. Membership is by election and considered the highest academic honour in Ireland.

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Member Profile: John O'Keefe

29 May 2019

John O'Keefe, a Nobel Prize-winning cognitive neuroscientist, was admitted as an Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy on 24 May 2019.

Professor O’Keefe has made the pivotal discoveries on which our understanding of the brain’s GPS system is founded. His discovery of ‘place cells’ inaugurated the modern era of the exploration of the brain’s cognitive map. His many other discoveries have indelibly altered our understanding of brain function, with implications extending from patients with dementia to intelligent robotics.

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