Headshot of Adrienne Fairhall.

Adrienne Fairhall

Professor of physiology and biophysics, University of Washington;
Contributing editor, The Transmitter

Adrienne Fairhall is professor of physiology and biophysics and adjunct professor of physics and applied mathematics at the University of Washington in Seattle. She co-directs the Computational Neuroscience Program at the University of Washington with Eric Shea-Brown. Her work focuses on dynamic neural computation, with a particular interest in the interplay between cellular and circuit dynamics and coding in a wide variety of model systems, including Hydra, Drosophila, birds and primates.

Fairhall obtained her honors degree in theoretical physics from the Australian National University and her Ph.D. in statistical physics from the Weizmann Institute of Science. She received her postdoctoral training at the NEC Research Institute with Bill Bialek and at Princeton University with Michael J. Berry II.

Explore more from The Transmitter

Federal funding cuts imperil next generation of autism researchers

As the International Society for Autism Research’s annual meeting begins, its next president reflects on a brewing crisis.

By Brian Boyd
30 April 2025 | 5 min read
Memory astrocytes.

Null and Noteworthy: Reanalysis contradicts report of immune memory in astrocytes

The analysis, which has not yet been peer reviewed, attributes the finding to misidentified immune cells instead.

By Laura Dattaro
30 April 2025 | 5 min read
Research image of neural progenitor cells.

Documenting decades of autism prevalence; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 28 April.

By Jill Adams
29 April 2025 | 1 min read