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 stacks of papers.

The next unit of science: Is the scientific paper due to be replaced?

Artificial intelligence is pushing scientific publishing to the brink. For a field as sprawling as neuroscience, the crisis may also be an opportunity to finally connect findings across subfields.

By Tim Requarth
11 May 2026 | 11 min read
Neuroscientist Julieta Sztarker holds an open-air teach-in for the general public in Plaza Italia in Buenos Aires.

Funding crisis in Argentina sparks new wave of protests

Two years after the country’s research funding collapsed, scientists are demonstrating against the government’s failure to restore previously cut scholarships and increase salaries as required by a 2025 law.

By Claudia López Lloreda, Natalia Mesa
8 May 2026 | 4 min read
Conceptual image of disjointed communication.

‘Slightly unhinged’ federal autism meeting portends unclear research priorities

The meeting last week sparked concerns about the latest Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee’s ability to perform its core function: developing a strategy to support autism research.

By Daisy Yuhas
7 May 2026 | 5 min read