Nancy Kopell

Professor Nancy Kopell is a distinguished academic and mathematician at Boston University, holding the William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professorship in the Department of Mathematics. She is also Co-Director of the Center for BioDynamics and has affiliations with the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Her research focuses on applied mathematics and dynamical systems, particularly the dynamics of the nervous system, including neural rhythms, cognitive processing, and anesthesia effects. Dr. Kopell has made groundbreaking contributions to understanding how brain rhythms underpin behavior, cognition, and neurological disorders.

Educational Background: She earned her A.B. from Cornell University (1963) and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from UC Berkeley (1967). She has held academic positions at MIT and Northeastern University before joining BU in 1986.

Research Interests: Dr. Kopell's work spans theoretical neuroscience, mathematical biology, and nonlinear dynamics. Key areas include:

• Rhythms in neural networks (gamma, beta, theta)
• Cell assembly coordination and synchronization
• Neurophysiological mechanisms of attention, memory, and decision-making
• Mathematical modeling of anesthesia and consciousness
• Geometric theory of singularly perturbed systems

Awards & Honors:

• National Academy of Sciences (1996)
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1996)
• SIAM Fellow (2009)
• MacArthur Fellowship (1990-1995)
• Weldon Memorial Prize (2006)

Grants & Collaborations: She has led numerous interdisciplinary projects, including the Cognitive Rhythms Collaborative and studies on thalamocortical interactions. Current grants include NIH-funded research on brain rhythms in attention and sleep.

Labs & Teams: Her Neuronal Dynamics Group at BU investigates neural oscillations and their roles in cognition. Collaborators include neuroscientists, engineers, and computational biologists.