Charles A. Nelson

Research director
Boston Children's Hospital

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.

From this contributor

Spectrum

By Charles A. Nelson

26 June 2018

4 min read

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.

Spectrum

How separating children from parents causes irreparable harm

By Charles A. Nelson

26 June 2018 | 4 min read

Spectrum

By Charles A. Nelson

25 April 2017

6 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.

Spectrum

Romanian orphans reveal clues to origins of autism

By Charles A. Nelson

25 April 2017 | 6 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

This paper changed my life

By Sidarta Ribeiro

14 July 2026

4 min read

Illustration of birdsong, bird brain, and DNA.

This paper changed my life: Embracing an early model for naturalistic neuroscience

A 1992 PNAS paper showed how birdsong upregulates the expression of an immediate early gene in bird forebrains. The work revealed to Ribeiro the importance of studying molecular responses in naturalistic contexts.

This paper changed my life