Richard Warren Aldrich is an American

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, Biological neural network, n ...

who is currently the

Karl Folkers Karl August Folkers (September 1, 1906 – December 7, 1997) was an American biochemist who made major contributions to the isolation and identification of bioactive natural products. Career Folkers graduated from the College of Liberal Arts a ...

Chair of Interdisciplinary Medical Research and Professor of Neurobiology in the School of Biological Sciences at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Early life

Graduating from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

with a BS in Biological Sciences (1975), Aldrich went on to earn a Ph. D. in Neuroscience from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

(1980). After completing a post-doctoral fellowship in

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

under the direction of W. Knox Chandler and Charles F. Stevens, Aldrich was hired to teach at Yale, instructing in the Department of

Molecular Neurobiology Molecular neuroscience is a branch of neuroscience that observes concepts in molecular biology applied to the nervous systems of animals. The scope of this subject covers topics such as molecular neuroanatomy, mechanisms of molecular signaling in ...

. In 1985, Aldrich returned to Stanford to teach neurobiology and physiology, eventually serving as Chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology from 2001 to 2004. He was an Investigator in the

Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, fil ...

from 1990 until 2006. Aldrich's research has focused on the "molecular mechanisms of ion channel function and their role in electrical signaling." Aldrich has served as the President of the

Society of General Physiologists The Society of General Physiologists (SGP) is a scientific organization whose purpose is to promote and disseminate knowledge in the field of general physiology, and otherwise to advance understanding and interest in the subject of general physio ...

and the

Biophysical Society The Biophysical Society is an international scientific society whose purpose is to lead the development and dissemination of knowledge in biophysics. Founded in 1958, the Society currently consists of over 7,500 members in academia, government, an ...

. Aldrich became a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

in 2008, and in 2011 was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldrich, Richard W. American neuroscientists American physiologists American biophysicists Howard Hughes Medical Investigators Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences University of Arizona alumni Stanford University School of Medicine alumni Yale School of Medicine faculty University of Texas faculty Living people Stanford University School of Medicine faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Presidents of the Biophysical Society Searle Scholars Program recipients