Kenneth C. Catania

{{short description|American neuroscientist}}

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Kenneth C. Catania

| image =

| image_size =

| birth_date = 1965

| field = Neurobiology

| work_institution = Vanderbilt University

| alma_mater = University of Maryland, College Park, University of California, San Diego

| doctoral_advisor = Glenn Northcutt

| prizes = MacArthur Fellowship, C. J. Herrick Award, NSF Career

}}

Kenneth C. Catania (born 1965) is a biologist and neuroscientist teaching and [http://as.vanderbilt.edu/catanialab/ conducting research] at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. As an undergraduate, Catania worked as a research assistant at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. while attending the University of Maryland, College Park. In 1989, he received a BS in zoology from the University of Maryland. He received a master's degree (1992) and Ph.D. (1994) in neurosciences from the University of California, San Diego, working with Glenn Northcutt. He did his post-doctoral work with Jon Kaas at Vanderbilt University before joining the [http://as.vanderbilt.edu/biosci/people/index.php?group=faculty Vanderbilt Biological Sciences faculty] in 2000 where he is currently a Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences.{{cite journal|last1=Catania|first1=Kenneth|title=Kenneth Catania|journal=Current Biology|date=January 2017|volume=27|issue=1|pages=R4–R6|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2016.11.053|doi-access=free}}

He studies animal sensory systems, brain organization, and behavior in diverse species including star-nosed moles,{{cite journal|last1=Catania|first1=Kenneth C.|title=The sense of touch in the star-nosed mole: from mechanoreceptors to the brain|journal=Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences|date=2011|volume=366|issue=1581|pages=3016–3025|doi=10.1098/rstb.2011.0128|pmid=21969683|jstor=23035676|pmc=3172592}} water shrews,{{cite journal|last1=Catania|first1=Kenneth C.|last2=Hare|first2=James F.|last3=Campbell|first3=Kevin L.|title=Water Shrews Detect Movement, Shape, and Smell to Find Prey Underwater|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|date=2008|volume=105|issue=2|pages=571–576|doi=10.1073/pnas.0709534104|pmid=18184804|jstor=25451131|pmc=2206577|bibcode=2008PNAS..105..571C|doi-access=free}} naked mole-rats,{{cite journal|last1=Catania|first1=Kenneth C.|last2=Remple|first2=Michael S.|title=Somatosensory Cortex Dominated by the Representation of Teeth in the Naked Mole-Rat Brain|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|date=2002|volume=99|issue=8|pages=5692–5697|doi=10.1073/pnas.072097999|pmid=11943853|jstor=3058556|pmc=122833|bibcode=2002PNAS...99.5692C|doi-access=free}} alligators and crocodiles,{{cite journal|last1=Leitch|first1=Duncan B.|last2=Catania|first2=Kenneth C.|title=Structure, innervation and response properties of integumentary sensory organs in crocodilians|journal=Journal of Experimental Biology|date=2012|volume=215|issue=23|pages=4217–4230|doi=10.1242/jeb.076836|pmid=23136155|pmc=4074209}} snakes,{{cite journal|last1=Catania|first1=Kenneth C.|title=Evolution of brains and behavior for optimal foraging: A tale of two predators|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|date=2012|volume=109|issue=Supp. 1|pages=10701–10708|doi=10.1073/pnas.1201885109|pmid=22723352|jstor=41601658|pmc=3386870|doi-access=free|bibcode=2012PNAS..10910701C }} earthworms,{{cite journal|last1=Catania|first1=Kenneth C.|title=Worm Grunting, Fiddling, and Charming—Humans Unknowingly Mimic a Predator to Harvest Bait|journal=PLOS ONE|date=2008|volume=3|issue=10|page=e3472|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0003472|pmid=18852902|pmc=2566961|bibcode=2008PLoSO...3.3472C|doi-access=free}} and electric eels.{{cite journal|last1=Catania|first1=Kenneth|title=The shocking predatory strike of the electric eel|journal=Science|date=2014|volume=346|issue=6214|pages=1231–1234|doi=10.1126/science.1260807|pmid=25477462|bibcode=2014Sci...346.1231C|s2cid=14371418}} His studies often focus on predators that have evolved special senses and weapons to find and overcome elusive prey and he is considered an expert in extreme animal behaviors.{{cite web|last1=Franz|first1=Julia|title=The Star-Nosed Mole Takes Adaptation To The Extreme|url=https://www.sciencefriday.com/person/ken-catania/|website=Science Friday|publisher=Science Friday Initiative|accessdate=2017-10-17}} He studies specialized species because they can reveal general principles about brain organization and sensory systems. But he also believes "there is unappreciated beauty and elegance in the behaviors and diverse forms of these extraordinary animals".{{cite web|title=Kenneth Catania|url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/kenneth-catania/|website=Guggenheim Fellowship|publisher=John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation}}

In addition to his research, Catania has authored two books aimed at a general audience: Great Adaptations (2020) and On the Art and Craft of Doing Science (2024).

Catania was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2006{{cite web

| last = Latt

| first = Elizabeth

| title = Vanderbilt neuroscientist Ken Catania receives MacArthur "genius grant"

| url = http://www.vanderbilt.edu/news/releases/2006/9/18/vanderbilt-neuroscientist-ken-catania-receives-macarthur-genius-grant-

| date = 2006-09-18

| accessdate=2007-11-25

}} and in 2013 he received the Pradel Research Award in Neurosciences from the National Academy of Sciences for "highly imaginative investigations of the neural basis of sensory behavior in model organisms" and "discoveries of fundamental principles of behavior, sensory processing, and brain organization".{{cite web|title=Pradel Research Award|url=http://www.nasonline.org/programs/awards/pradel-research-award.html|website=National Academy of Sciences|publisher=National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A.}}

In addition to his scientific publications, his work has also been featured in magazines such as [http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/natural-born-killer/ Scientific American], [http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/htmlsite/master.html?http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/htmlsite/0308/0308_feature.html Natural History Magazine], and [http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/32505/title/A-Nose-for-Touch/ The Scientist]. His discovery of a "mechanism similar to a taser" in an electric eel by absorbing the shock through his fingertips was widely covered in the popular press.{{Cite web|title = Electric Eels Use Built-In "Taser" to Remotely Stun Their Prey|url = http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141204-electric-eels-fish-science-animals-remote-control/|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141204215842/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141204-electric-eels-fish-science-animals-remote-control/|url-status = dead|archive-date = December 4, 2014|website = news.nationalgeographic.com|date = 2014-12-04|access-date = 2016-02-17}}