Ted Abel, professor and chair of the Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology in the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine and director of the Iowa Neuroscience Institute at the UI, will deliver Iowa’s 38th Presidential Lecture on Nov. 7 in the Iowa Memorial Union.

“I’m excited for our campus and community to learn more about Dr. Abel’s internationally recognized research on the brain and memory formation during this fall 2021 Presidential Lecture at Iowa,” says UI President Barbara Wilson. “We are fortunate to have someone who is not only an expert in his field, but also a champion of collaboration. Dr. Abel understands that a multi-disciplinary approach is key to breaking barriers in research and to solving societal problems, and I know that his presentation will be both engaging and informative.”

Abel is an internationally renowned neuroscientist whose research focuses on the mechanisms of sleep and memory storage and the molecular basis of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders, including autism. In 2019, Abel was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the field. He also is a fellow of the American Associate for the Advancement of Science, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and the Association for Psychological Science.

Abel has co-authored more than 200 scientific papers, and his research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, the Simons Foundation, the Department of the Army, the National Science Foundation, the Human Frontiers Science Program, the Whitehall Foundation, the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

Abel graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Swarthmore College, a Master of Philosophy in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge, and a doctoral degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from Harvard University. He also served as a postdoctoral fellow in neurobiology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University.

The Presidential Lecture Series provides an opportunity for distinguished faculty members to present significant aspects of their work to the greater university community and general public. The university established the annual series to encourage intellectual communication among the many disciplines that constitute the UI, as well as to provide a public forum for scholarship, research, and creative achievement. The series is made possible by the generosity of donors of unrestricted gifts to the UI Center for Advancement.