Charles A. Nelson is professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School and director of research at Boston Children’s Hospital’s Developmental Medicine Center.
Charles A. Nelson
Research director
Boston Children's Hospital
From this contributor
How separating children from parents causes irreparable harm
Science teaches us that housing children in institution-like settings is likely to cause severe and permanent damage to their minds and bodies.
How separating children from parents causes irreparable harm
By
Charles A. Nelson
26 June 2018 | 4 min read
Romanian orphans reveal clues to origins of autism
Understanding autism features in children who were deprived of social contact as infants could offer clues to the condition.
Romanian orphans reveal clues to origins of autism
By
Charles A. Nelson
25 April 2017 | 6 min read
Explore more from The Transmitter
Exclusive: Janelia sunsets rodent work, launches transparent fish project
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus is banking on whole-brain imaging in the Danionella fish to advance neuroscience, but some scientists forced to close their labs say that even with a three-year runway and transitional support, they feel betrayed by the pivot.
Exclusive: Janelia sunsets rodent work, launches transparent fish project
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus is banking on whole-brain imaging in the Danionella fish to advance neuroscience, but some scientists forced to close their labs say that even with a three-year runway and transitional support, they feel betrayed by the pivot.
By
Calli McMurray
22 June 2026 | 5 min read
Transforming AI models into useful model organisms
These systems were not built to explain the brain. But treating them as model organisms that we can perturb and evolve will move us closer to that goal.
Transforming AI models into useful model organisms
These systems were not built to explain the brain. But treating them as model organisms that we can perturb and evolve will move us closer to that goal.
By
Mariya Toneva
22 June 2026 | 6 min read
Cortical area remixes macaques’ knowledge blocks to solve new problems
When monkeys draw complex shapes, their neural activity reflects patterns of activation elicited by drawing simpler, component shapes.
Cortical area remixes macaques’ knowledge blocks to solve new problems
When monkeys draw complex shapes, their neural activity reflects patterns of activation elicited by drawing simpler, component shapes.
By
Lauren Schenkman
19 June 2026 | 0 min watch