Alex Kolodkin, Ph.D., is a professor of neuroscience and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  He received a B.A. in biology from Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the Institute of Molecular Biology at the University of Oregon.  He has received several awards, including the McKnight Neuroscience Investigator Award, the Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the Searle Scholars Award,