Personal life
Although known for his impact within neuroscience, Paxinos has a history of campaigning for the environment. For more than 10 years (1989 - 2000), Paxinos was the leading proponent of light rail for the city of Sydney. His motivation had been to reduce atmospheric pollution from automobile use. He stood as candidate for the Australian Cyclists Party for the 2015 state elections in New South Wales. In 2021, he published A River Divided, a novel in the environmental genre, where neuroscience principles and environmental issues are at the centre, including the question of whether the brain is the right “size” for survival. It was published in 2021 and recently dubbed one of “five eco-fiction must-reads” by Carousel.Research
Paxinos has published 58 books. He has identified 94 nuclei (areas) in the rat and human brains. Comparing rats and humans, he has identified 64 homologous nuclei. He has identified 180 nuclei and homologies in birds. He was the first to derive reliable stereotaxic coordinates for the brain of rats, mice, birds and primates — a factor fueling the explosion in neuroscience research since the 1980s. He developed the first comprehensive nomenclature and ontology for the brain, covering humans, birds, and developing mammals. Further, Paxinos constructed the most frequently cited atlases of the brain and spinal cord of rats, mice, monkeys, birds and humans. He also published developmental atlases of rats and mice, and the only comprehensive MRI/DTI atlas of the rat brainImpact
Most scientists working on the relation between the human brain and neurologic or psychiatric diseases, or animal models of these diseases, use his maps and concepts of brain organization. His human brain atlases are the most accurate ones for identification of deep structures and are used in surgical theatres.Citation record and grant support
In the field of neuroscience, he is the author of the most cited publication internationally (''The Rat Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates'' (Paxinos and Watson, 1986.). For three decades, this was the third most cited book in science after ''Molecular Cloning'' and the ''Editorial boards of international refereed journals
Paxinos has served on 16 journal editorial boards, including ''Frontiers in Neuroanatomy'' (2008–present), ''Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience & Mental Health (2018 - present), Brain Structure and Function'' (2007–present), ''Translational Neuroscience'' (2008–present), ''ISRN Neurology'' (2010–present), ''PLoS ONE, for the SBMT NeuroMapping and Therapeutics Collection'' (2012–present), ''Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy'' (2004–2014), ''BrainNavigator'' (2009–12), ''Neuroscience and Bio-behavioral Reviews'' (2000–11), ''Journal of Comparative Neurology'' ''Human Brain Mapping'', ''Posters in Neuroscience'', ''Journal fur Hirnforschung'', ''International Neuropsychiatric Disease Journal,'' and ''NeuroImage''.Contribution to the Profession
* President of the Australian Neuroscience Society (ANS; 2004-5). * President, World Congress of Neuroscience (2004-7). * Chairperson, IBRO World Congress & Regional Meetings Committee (2007–11). Honorary Life Memberships * Society of Speech Therapists of Greece (Σύλλογος Επιστημόνων Λογοπαθολόγων Λογοθεραπευτών Ελλάδος) * Hellenic Neuropsychology Society Conference Organizing * President of the Local Organizing Committee for the 2007 Melbourne IBRO World Congress of Neuroscience (and President of the Melbourne consortium bid for the Congress). * Mai, Saper and Paxinos organized the ''International Conference on the Structural Basis for Understanding Human Brain Function and Dysfunction''; Roma 5-10 Oct 2002. * He was a founding member of the international committee that organizes the International Human Brain Mapping Conferences.Contribution to teaching
He wrote the textbook ''The Brain: an Introduction to Functional Neuroanatomy'' (2010) which is used in the Australian and New Zealand Brain Bee Challenge and has contributed to Australia’s dominance in the International Brain Bee Challenge competition. He taught psychology for 27 years and served on the Academic Board and Council of UNSW. He is currently supervising two postdoctoral fellows and a PhD student.Professional service
*President of the Australasian Neuroscience Society (ANS; 2004–5). *President, World Congress of Neuroscience (2004–07). *Chairperson, IBRO World Congress & Regional Meetings Committee (2007–11).Community service
*Founder and President of the Light Rail Association (1989–2000) *Founder and former Secretary of the Migrants' Rights Committee *Candidate for the Australian Cyclists Party *Founder of the Living Junction Facebook Community, the Coastal Walk Group and the Randwick Environmental Group.Honours and awards
*1968 The Warner Brown Memorial Prize, University of California at Berkeley *1992 The Walter Burfitt Prize, Royal Society of NSW *1994 DSc, The University of New South Wales *1997 The Award for Excellence in Publishing in Medical ScienceNina Kondelos Prize
The Nina Kondelos Prize has been awarded annually since 2007 to a female neuroscientist for making significant contributions to neuroscience research. The award is named after the late sister of Professor George Paxinos and was initially funded by him.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paxinos, George 1944 births Living people Australian neuroscientists Greek emigrants to Australia Greek atheists Officers of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences