Jason Shepherd.

Jason Shepherd

Professor of neurobiology
University of Utah

Jason Shepherd is professor of neurobiology and holds the Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Chair at the University of Utah. He obtained his B.Sc. (Hons) at the University of Otago, his Ph.D. at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and his postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Shepherd is a recipient of the Peter and Patricia Gruber International Research Award in Neuroscience, the International Society for Neurochemistry Young Scientist Lectureship Award, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Ben Barres Early Career Acceleration Award, the NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award, the Brain Research Foundation Scientific Innovation Award and the McKnight Foundation Neurobiology of Brain Disorders Award. He is also a National Academy of Sciences Kavli fellow.

Explore more from The Transmitter

Illustration of needle sewing through multicolor strips.

How to use artificial intelligence to strengthen scientific processes and scholarly output

As AI-driven systems are integrated into all aspects of science, we need to make sure that they read and write to a shared data and knowledge space.

By Satrajit Ghosh
6 July 2026 | 5 min read
Research image of mitochondrial activity in the mouse amygdala and hippocampus.

The fast-expanding repertoire of mitochondria in the brain

More than cellular powerhouses, these organelles also seem to help synapses communicate, support memory formation and even shape behavior.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
3 July 2026 | 7 min read
Two fingers turning a small dial.

When autistic kids grow up, Chapter 5: The war dial

“You have to reshape the whole system.” Tempest McDonald earns a measure of peace.

By Brady Huggett
2 July 2026 | 42 min listen