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Personal bio
Susan McConnell graduated in 1980 from Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges with an A.B. in Biology. She received her Ph.D. in Neurobiology in 1987 from Harvard University, and has been a Professor in the Biology Department at Stanford since 1989. In the lab, McConnell and her colleagues study the molecular, genetic and cellular mechanisms of brain development, using the mouse as a model system. At the core of her work, she is trying to understand how neurons know what kind of connections to make. Her Developmental Neurobiology course (Bio158/258) enables students to delve deeply into the mechanisms that control neural development, from the initial formation of the neural tube to the role of early experience in refining the pattern of neural connections in the mature brain. In addition to her work in developmental neurobiology, McConnell is an avid wildlife photographer whose photos have appeared in Smithsonian, Outdoor Photographer, and other magazines. She is particularly interested in the intersection between biology and the arts, and she teaches two courses (Bio196/The Senior Reflection and Bio7N/Conservation Photography) that explore this intersection. Currently teaching |