Kristen Harris is Professor of Neuroscience and Fellow in the Center for Learning and Memory at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research group at UT Austin uses serial section electron microscopy to study synapses. She is also a member of the Institute for Neuroscience and the Center for Theoretical and Computational Learning.
Early life and education
Harris was born in North Dakota. In 1976, she earned a bachelor's degree at Minnesota State University Moorhead, majoring in biology and minoring in both chemistry and mathematics. Three years later, she earned her master's degree from the University of Illinois and went on to do graduate work at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. She obtained a PhD in neurobiology in 1982, after which she held a two-year postdoctoral position at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Career
Harris was a member of the faculty in Neurology at the Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital, Boston until 1999. Then she moved to Boston University where she helped to establish an inter-departmental Program in Neuroscience. In 2002, she established the Synapses and Cognitive Neuroscience Center at Medical College of Georgia. Harris was recruited to the University of Texas at Austin.
Research
Harris's research focus is to elucidate structural components involved in the cell biology of learning and memory. She focuses on seven main areas of research, which include
Behavior
Cell Biology of neurons, muscle & glia
Developmental Biology
Ion Channels, Neurotransmitter Receptors & Molecular Signaling
Learning & Memory
Neural Development & Plasticity
Synaptic Biology & Small Circuits
Awards
1999–2004 Packard Foundation Grant
2002–04 Councilor, Society for Neuroscience
2002–06 Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar
2003 Wiersma Visiting Professor, Caltech
2003 Distinguished Alumna Award, Minnesota State University Moorhead
2012–present Scientific Advisory Board, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, Germany
2014–present Scientific Advisory Board, HHMI – Janelia Research Campus, Virginia
2014 Outstanding Speaker Award, American Association for Clinical Chemistry
2015–present Scientific Advisory Board, Allen Institute for Brain Research, Seattle, WA
2016 Elected Fellow, AAAS
2024 Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS)