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Robert Sapolsky is the author of a half-dozen books, including A Primate's Memoir and The Trouble With Testosterone. He is the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford University. He has applied his Ph.D. degree in Neuroendocrinology to investigating stress and neuron degeneration and strategies for potentially protecting susceptible neurons from diseases. In his well-known book, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: An Updated Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases and Coping, for example, Dr. Sapolsky examines how prolonged stress can cause or contribute to damaging physical and mental afflictions. His laboratory was among the first to document that stress can damage the neurons of the hippocampus. He currently is investigating gene transfer techniques to strengthen neurons against the disabling effects of glucocorticoids. His research encompasses studies of wild baboons in Kenya, environmental sources of stress on such populations, and biochemical stress indicators such as cortisol levels. His many honors have included receiving the prestigious "genius grant" from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 1987, as well as an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, and the Kingenstein Fellowship in Neuroscience. He also has received the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award and Young Investigator of the Year Awards from the Society for Neuroscience, the Biological Psychiatry Society, and the International Society for Psychoneuro-Endocrinology. Author of numerous science articles, Dr. Sapolsky is on the editorial boards of several journals, including the Journal of Neurochemistry, Psychoneuroendocrinology, and Stress.
