Cathy Price

Price obtained her bachelor's degree in 1984, and her PhD in 1990, both from Birkbeck College.{{Cite web|title=Prof Cathy Price|url=https://iris.ucl.ac.uk/iris/browse/profile?upi=CJPRI95|website=UCL IRIS}}

Professor Kia Nobre, who nominated Price for the 5th Suffrage award for Life Sciences, said: "She blossomed through the trenches of a very macho world with gentle words, generous deeds, scientific commitment and rigour, genuine translation of research to clinical benefit, and humour."{{Cite web|last=UCL|date=2018-06-07|title=Leading UCL neuroscientist honoured for brain imaging research|url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2018/jun/leading-ucl-neuroscientist-honoured-brain-imaging-research|access-date=2020-08-16|website=UCL News|language=en}}

Price originally trained as a neuropsychologist studying reading and object recognition in patients with brain damage. In 1991, she joined the Medical Research Council (MRC) cyclotron unit at the inception of human brain mapping and used PET scanning to provide new insights into the functional anatomy of reading, speech perception, speech production and semantics.

In 1995, Price moved to University College London using MRI scanning to show how language abilities and IQ are reflected in brain structure. For example, by combining structural and functional imaging data from healthy participants, Price has shown the remarkable effect that learning has on the structure of the brain. This is illustrated in a series of 3 Nature papers that map structural brain changes associated with (i) learning a second language,{{cite journal|last1=Mechelli|first1=A.|last2=Crinion|first2=J.|last3=Noppeney|first3=U.|first4=John|last4=O'Doherty|first5=John|last5=Ashburner|first6=Richard S.|last6=Frackowiak|first7=Cathy J.|last7=Price|display-authors=3|title=Structural plasticity in the bilingual brain|journal=Nature|volume=431|page=757|year=2004|issue=7010|doi=10.1038/431757a|pmid=15483594|hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-0013-D79B-1|s2cid=4338340|hdl-access=free}} (ii) learning to read in adulthood{{cite journal|last1=Carreiras|last2=Seghier|first2=M.|last3=Baquero|first3=S.|first4=Adelina|last4=Estévez|first5=Alfonso|last5=Lozano|first6=Joseph T.|last6=Devlin|first7=Cathy J.|last7=Price|display-authors=3|title=An anatomical signature for literacy|journal=Nature|volume=461|pages=983–986|year=2009|issue=7266|doi=10.1038/nature08461|pmid=19829380|bibcode=2009Natur.461..983C|s2cid=205218359}} and (iii) naturally occurring changes in verbal and nonverbal IQ in the teenage brain.{{cite journal|title=Verbal and non-verbal intelligence changes in the teenage brain|journal=Nature|last1=Ramsden|first1=S.|last2=Richardson|first2=F.|last3=Josse|first3=G.|first4=Michael S.C.|last4=Thomas|first5=Caroline|last5=Ellis|first6=Clare|last6=Shakeshaft|first7=Mohamed L.|last7=Seghier|first8=Cathy J.|last8=Price|display-authors=3|volume=479|pages=113–116|year=2011|issue=7371|doi=10.1038/nature10514|pmid=22012265|pmc=3672949|bibcode=2011Natur.479..113R}}

Price has made two strong theoretical claims. Contrary to traditional views, her “cognitive ontologies” theory{{cite journal |last1= Price |first1= Cathy J. |last2= Friston|first2= Karl J.|date= 2005 |title= Functional ontologies for cognition: The systematic definition of structure and function |journal= Cognitive Neuropsychology |volume= 22|issue= 3–4 |pages= 262–275 |doi=10.1080/02643290442000095|pmid= 21038249 |s2cid= 1735090 }} claimed that there are no parts of the human brain that are dedicated to language processing. Instead, specialisation for all types of language processing emerge through cross-talk among unique combinations of areas that are each involved in many other non-linguistic functions. Redefining the functional components of language, in terms of the underlying neural systems would, Price proposes, allow us to generate cognitive models that are both physiologically plausible and clinically useful.{{cite journal |last1= Price |first1= C.J. |date= 2018 |title= The evolution of cognitive models: From neuropsychology to neuroimaging and back. |journal= Cortex |volume= 107 |pages= 37–49|doi=10.1016/j.cortex.2017.12.020|pmid= 29373117 |pmc= 5924872 }} Her “cognitive degeneracy” theory{{cite journal |last1= Price |first1= C.J. |last2=Friston |first2=Karl J. |date= 2002 |title= Degeneracy and cognitive anatomy.|journal= Trends in Cognitive Sciences |volume= 6|issue= 10|pages= P416-421 |doi=10.1016/S1364-6613(02)01976-9|pmid= 12413574 |s2cid= 12073657 }} claimed that the same language task can be supported by different neural pathways, and that an understanding of when and why different neural pathways are used is essential for understanding how patients recover language after brain damage.

Since 2012, Price has turned her attention to developing a tool for predicting language outcome and recovery after stroke (the PLORAS study).{{cite web | title = Predicting Language Outcome and Recovery After Stroke (PLORAS)| work = Wellcome Trust | url = https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ploras/ | access-date = 2020-03-19}} To this end, she is creating a database that provides easy access to multiple sources of information (behaviour, demographics, brain structure and function) from thousands of stroke survivors. Predictions for new patients are based on how others with similar brain damage and demographics were observed to recover from the same symptoms. The same data, and the theory of cognitive degeneracy, can also be used to explain recovery in terms of the degree to which patients have preserved the set of neural pathways needed to produce speech and language (Seghier and Price, 2018).{{cite journal |last1= Seghier|first1= Mohamed L.|last2= Price|first2= Cathy J.|date= June 2018 |title= Interpreting and Utilising Intersubject Variability in Brain Function|url= |journal= Trends in Cognitive Sciences|volume= 22|issue= 6|pages= 517–530|doi= 10.1016/j.tics.2018.03.003|pmid= 29609894|pmc= 5962820|doi-access= free}}

In March 2020, her h-index is 86 from a total of 322 papers, with more than 24,000 citations.{{cite web | title = Cathy J. Price| work = Semantic Scholar | url = https://www.semanticscholar.org/author/Cathy-J.-Price/143953636 | access-date=2020-03-19}}

• The Minnie Mitchel Goodall Studentship (1989) {{cite web |url=https://www.academia-net.org/profil/prof-catherine-price/1216966 |title= Prof. Catherine Price|author= |date= |website= AcademiaNet|access-date= 2020-03-19}}
• Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship (1997)
• Organization for Human Brain Mapping Early Career Investigator Award (2001).{{cite web | title = Early Career Investigator Award 2001: Cathy Price| work = Organization for Human Brain Mapping | url = https://www.humanbrainmapping.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=3319&activateFull=true }}
• Human Brain Mapping Editor's Choice Award (2006) {{cite web | title = Human Brain Mapping| work = Wiley Online Library | doi = 10.1002/(ISSN)1097-0193 | url = https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/10970193/homepage/editorschoice.html | access-date = 2020-03-19}}
• Justine et Yves Sergent award (2008){{cite web | title = Justine & Yves Sergent Fund| url = https://justine-yves-sergent.org/en/awardees/ | access-date=2020-03-19}}
• Ipsen Foundation Neuropsychology Prize (2012) {{cite web |url=https://www.ipsen.com/press-releases/the-21th-jean-louis-signoret-neuropsychology-prize-of-the-fondation-ipsen-has-been-awarded-to-cathy-price-university-college-london-london-uk/ |title= The 21st Jean-Louis Signoret Neuropsychology Prize of the Fondation Ipsen has been awarded to Cathy Price (University College London, London, UK)|author= |date= 2012-12-03 |access-date= 2020-03-19}}
• Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellowship (2012) {{cite web | title = Funded People and Projects - Grant Funding| work = Wellcome Trust | url = https://wellcome.ac.uk/grant-funding/funded-people-and-projects | format = xls | access-date = 2020-03-19}}
• Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) (2014){{cite web | title = Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences 2014: Cathy Price| work = Academy of Medical Sciences | url = https://acmedsci.ac.uk/fellows/fellows-directory/ordinary-fellows/fellow/Professor-Catherine-Price-0009186 | access-date=2020-03-19}}
• Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellowship (2017
• 5th Suffrage award for Life Sciences (2018) {{cite web | title = Leading female scientists awarded Suffrage Science heirlooms| work = London Institute of Medical Sciences | date = 6 June 2018 | url = https://lms.mrc.ac.uk/suffrage-science-life-sciences-2018/ | access-date=2020-03-19}}
• Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) (2020)
• Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) (2022){{cite web |title=Record number of women elected to the British Academy |url=https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/record-number-of-women-elected-to-the-british-academy/ |website=The British Academy |access-date=15 August 2022 |language=en |date=22 July 2022}}

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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:Living people

Category:British women neuroscientists

Category:Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London

Category:Academics of University College London

Category:Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellows

Category:Female fellows of the Royal Society

Category:Fellows of the British Academy