Dr. Joshua Sanes and his colleagues study the structure, function, molecular architecture and development of the mammalian visual system. To further their aims, they have also pioneered new ways to mark and manipulate neurons and the synapses they form. Their current work focuses on comprehensive classification and characterization on neurons in the vertebrate retina, and the use of these atlases to address issues in development, injury, disease and evolution.  Sanes received a BA from Yale and a PhD from Harvard, then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF before joining the faculty of Washington University. He returned to Harvard in 2004 as Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and founding Director of the Center for Brain Science. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has served on editorial boards of scientific journals including Cell and Neuron; on planning committees for the NIH BRAIN Initiative and the NEI Audacious Goals Initiative; and on advisory boards for the Max-Planck Institute, Wellcome Trust, Stowers Institute, Hebrew University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His work has been published in over 400 papers, and has been honored with the Schuetze, Gruber, Cowan, Perl/UNC and Scolnick Prizes.