Dr. Nikolay Kukushkin, Ph.D - Center for Neural Science, NYU - Uncovering The Foundations Of Memory

Dr. Nikolay Kukushkin, Ph.D. ( https://www.nikolaykukushkin.com/ ) is Clinical Associate Professor of Life Science and a research fellow at the Center for Neural Science, at NYU ( https://liberalstudies.nyu.edu/about/faculty-listing/nikolay-kukushkin.html ).

Dr. Kukushkin studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms of memory formation and his research has been exploring that memory is not just confined to neuronal circuits, but rather exists in all types of cells in humans and other organisms, relying on a conserved set of molecular tools.

Working at the convergence of neuroscience, molecular biology, evolution, and philosophy, Dr. Kukushkin’s core research program currently deals with the role of time patterns in memory formation and how these time patterns of experience determine which memories are formed, and which ones are forgotten.

Prior to joining NYU, Dr. Kukushkin held a post-doctoral appointment at Harvard Medical School, Department of Cell Biology. He was also a fellow of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation for his work on the temporal aspects of protein degradation and its role in cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and cognitive disability.

Dr. Kukushkin’s academic work has been published in Nature Communications, Nature Medicine, Neuron, and PNAS among others.

Dr. Kukushkin is also the author of a bestselling, award-winning book “One Hand Clapping: The Origin Story of The Human Mind” (Alpina Non-Fiction, Moscow, 2020), which deals with the origins of human consciousness. The book will be published in English in 2025 by Prometheus (US) and Swift Press (UK and worldwide). The book won the most prestigious book prize for Russian nonfiction, the Enlightener (Prosvetitel) Award, as well as the Alexander Belyaev Medal, awarded to the best Russian-language nonfiction and science fiction.

Dr. Kukushkin holds a D. Phil. in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford (UK) and a B. Sc. in Biology from St. Petersburg State University (Russia).

Important Episode Link - Nature Communications, November 2024 - The massed-spaced learning effect in non-neural human cells - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-53922-x

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