Hannah Critchlow

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Hannah Critchlow
CL6B8671.jpg
Critchlow by the River Cam
Born
Hannah Marion Critchlow

1980 (age 44–45)
Leicester, England
NationalityBritish
Education Brunel University (BSc)
University of Cambridge (PhD)
Children1
Scientific career
Fields Neuroscience
Institutions University of Cambridge
University of Oxford
Thesis The Role of Dendritic Spine Plasticity in Schizophrenia  (2008)
Website neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/member/hannahcritchlow

Hannah Marion Critchlow (born 1980) is a British scientist, writer and broadcaster. Her academic research has focused on cellular and molecular neuroscience. [1] [2] [3] [4] In 2014 the Science Council named her as one of the ten leading "communicator scientists" in the UK. [5] In 2019 Nature listed her as one of Cambridge Universities "Rising Stars in Biological Sciences". [6] In 2022 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Brunel University for her work in neuroscience and communication. [7] In 2026 she is due to receive the Rosalind Franklin Medal from the Humanist Society.

Contents

Early life and education

Critchlow decided on a career in neuroscience as a teenager after working as a nursing assistant at St Andrew's Hospital. [8] [9] [10] She studied Cell and Molecular Biology at Brunel University, [9] [10] where she was awarded a First Class degree in 2003 along with three undergraduate University Prizes. [11] While studying at Brunel she had secured a work placement from GlaxoSmithKline, who with the Medical Research Council provided a CASE Award for her doctoral [12] studies at the University of Cambridge. [9] [11]

Career and research

Following completion of her PhD, Critchlow spent a year as a Kingsley Bye-Fellow at Magdalene College, Cambridge [11] and then a further year as a researcher at the Institute for the Future of the Mind, [11] funded by the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford. [13] In 2008 she returned to Cambridge, where she has been professionally based ever since, apart from a one-year secondment to the British Neuroscience Association in 2010–2011. [11] [8]

In parallel with her research career, Critchlow began to establish herself as an effective science communicator and public face of science. She took part in a Rising Stars programme run by the University of Cambridge's Public Engagement team in 2011 [14] and, together with the cosmologist Andrew Pontzen, produced a series of Naked Shorts on their research for the award-winning podcast The Naked Scientists . [11] [14] A series of talks developed by Critchlow to take to schools and public festivals led to her giving a talk on "brain myths" at the Hay Literary Festival in 2015 that attracted national and international media interest. [15] [16] [17] This led in turn to her being commissioned by Penguin Books to write an introductory book on Consciousness [18] and to presenting Tomorrow's World Live for the BBC [19] and Family Brain Games. [20] In 2017 Critchlow was appointed as a Science Outreach Fellow by Magdalene College, Cambridge [11] [8] [18] She was a judge for the 2018 Wellcome Book Prize. [21] In 2019 she was elected member of the prestigious European Dana Alliance of the Brain and named by Nature as one of Cambridge University's 'Rising Stars in Life Sciences' [6] in recognition for her achievements in science engagement. That same year her second book was published called The Science of Fate and made it onto the Sunday Times Bestseller list. [22] Her third book Joined up Thinking was published in 2022 to critical acclaim.

Publications

Books

Selected articles

References

  1. ↑ Critchlow, Hannah (2018). Consciousness. illus. Stephen Player. London, England: Ladybird Books. ISBN   978-0-7181-8911-2.
  2. ↑ Critchlow, Hannah M; Herrington, Paul; Gunton, Simon (1 February 2012). "Inside an unquiet mind: Music and science join forces to explore mental ill health". EMBO Reports. 13 (2): 95–99. doi:10.1038/embor.2011.255. PMC   3271342 . PMID   22240971.
  3. ↑ Critchlow, HM; Maycox, PR; Skepper, JN; Krylova, O (2006). "Clozapine and haloperidol differentially regulate dendritic spine formation and synaptogenesis in rat hippocampal neurons". Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience. 32 (4): 356–365. doi:10.1016/j.mcn.2006.05.007. PMID   16844384. S2CID   33783762.
  4. ↑ Critchlow, HM; Payne, A; Griffin, DK (2006). "Clozapine and haloperidol differentially regulate dendritic spine formation and synaptogenesis in rat hippocampal neurons". Cytogenetic and Genome Research. 105 (1): 4–10. doi:10.1159/000078002. PMID   15218251. S2CID   46245478.
  5. ↑ "The UK's 100 leading practising scientists". 17 January 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Top 10 institutions for life sciences in 2018". Nature. 19 June 2019. doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01925-w.
  7. ↑ "What's happening at Winter grads". students.brunel.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 "Dr Hannah Critchlow :: Cambridge Neuroscience". www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 Gordon, Bryony (27 June 2015). "Meet the female Brian Cox". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  10. 1 2 Saner, Emine (18 May 2018). "Neuroscientist Hannah Critchlow: 'Consciousness is a really funny word'". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Dr Hannah Critchlow". Magdalene College. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  12. ↑ Critchlow, Hannah Marion (2008). The role of dendritic spine plasticity in schizophrenia. jisc.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge. OCLC   890154350. EThOS   uk.bl.ethos.612238.
  13. ↑ "About - Institute for the Future of the Mind - Programmes" . Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  14. 1 2 "Busting brain myths". 4 May 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  15. ↑ Knapton, Sarah (25 May 2015). "Humans could download brains on to a computer and live forever". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  16. ↑ Waugh, Rob (26 May 2015). "Someone just claimed that left-handed people really ARE more creative". Metro. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  17. ↑ Bennhold, Katrin (2 June 2015). "At the Hay Festival, Democratizing Inspiration". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  18. 1 2 "Hannah Critchlow". www.penguin.co.uk. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  19. ↑ "Watch: Tomorrow's World Live - Move to Mars". BBC Guides. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  20. ↑ "The Family Brain Games" . Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  21. ↑ "2018 - Wellcome Book Prize". wellcomebookprize.org. Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  22. ↑ "The Sunday Times Bestsellers, May 19" . Retrieved 26 September 2019.
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