Sheila Nirenberg

{{short description|American neuroscientist}}

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| name = Sheila Nirenberg

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| caption = Nirenberg in 2013

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| fields = Neuroscience

| workplaces = Cornell University

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| alma_mater = SUNY Albany
Harvard University

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| awards = MacArthur Award, Beckman Young Investigators Award,{{cite news |last1=Guerrero |first1=Russell |title=Talking to the brain in its own language |url=https://new.trinity.edu/news/talking-brain-its-own-language |access-date=1 August 2018 |work=Trinity University |date=March 21, 2014}} TED Talk, NYC BioAccelerate Prize

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| website = {{URL|physiology.med.cornell.edu/faculty/nirenberg/lab/}}

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{{external media | width = 210px | float = right | headerimage= |video1= [https://www.tedmed.com/talks/show?id=7217 ”Sheila Nirenberg, Can we speak the language of the brain?”], TEDMED, 2011 | video2 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elO4BSHgoy4 “Sheila Nirenberg - Q&A”], TEDMED, 2011 |video3= [https://www.macfound.org/fellows/899/ ”MacArthur Fellows Program, Sheila Nirenberg”], MacArthur Foundation, 2013 }}

Sheila Nirenberg is an American neuroscientist and professor at Weill Cornell Medical College. She works in the field of neural coding, developing new kinds of prosthetic devices that can communicate directly with the brain,{{cite journal |last1=Brumfiel |first1=Geoff |title=Prosthetic retina helps to restore sight in mice |journal=Nature |date=13 August 2012 |doi=10.1038/nature.2012.11164 |s2cid=87951998 |url=https://www.nature.com/news/prosthetic-retina-helps-to-restore-sight-in-mice-1.11164 |access-date=1 August 2018|url-access=subscription }} and new kinds of smart robots.{{cite web |title=Sheila Nirenberg Going from scientist to entrepreneur: things that are useful to know |url=http://www.smc2017.org/?q=Sheila%20Nirenberg |website=IEEE SMC 2017|date= October 6, 2017 |access-date=1 August 2018}} She is a recipient of a MacArthur “genius” award{{cite web|url=http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20130926/HEALTH_CARE/130929924/sheila-nirenberg-a-genius-with-vision|title=New Yorker trying cure blindness wins 'genius' prize|first=Barbara|last=Benson|website=crainsnewyork.com}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/arts/macarthur-genius-award-winners-named.html|title=24 Recipients of MacArthur 'Genius' Awards Named|first=Felicia R.|last=Lee|date=24 September 2013|work=The New York Times}} and has been the subject of, or featured in, several documentaries for her technology for treating blindness.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20141111-the-code-that-may-treat-blindness|title=The code that may treat blindness|first=|last=|website=BBC News|date=12 November 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-05/this-bionic-eye-could-cure-blindness|title=This Bionic Eye Could Cure Blindness|first1= Sam|last1= Grobart|first2=Alan|last2= Jeffries|date=5 April 2016|work=Bloomberg}}{{cite web|url=http://storyofsight.com/|title=Sight - The Story of Vision|website=storyofsight.com}}

She is currently the Nanette Laitman Professor in Neurology and Neuroscience and a professor of Computational Neuroscience in the Institute for Computational Biomedicine at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University.{{cite web|url=http://physiology.med.cornell.edu/faculty/nirenberg/lab/|title=Nirenberg Lab Website|website=Cornell University}}{{Cite web|title=Sheila Nirenberg, Ph.D. – Weill Cornell Medicine – Department of Physiology and Biophysics|url=https://physiology.med.cornell.edu/people/sheila-nirenberg-ph-d/|access-date=2020-09-13|language=en-US}} Additionally, she is the founder of two startup companies, Bionic Sight LLC (prosthetic devices){{cite news |last1=Mullin |first1=Emily |title=Companies Plan Tests of "Optogenetic Goggles" to Restore Sight |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603561/companies-plan-tests-of-optogenetic-goggles-to-restore-sight/ |access-date=1 August 2018 |work=MIT Technology Review |date=February 15, 2017}} and Nirenberg Neuroscience LLC (smart robots, AI).{{cite web|url=https://www.nirenbergneuroscience.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820085100/http://www.nirenbergneuroscience.com/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=August 20, 2016|title=Homepage|website= Nirenberg Neruoscience, LLC }}