Peri T. Kurshan, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience and in the department of genetics at Einstein, in June received a 2023 McKnight Scholar Award from the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience.
This prestigious and competitive award—only 10 were given nationwide this year, across the many subdisciplines within the field—recognizes young investigators’ promising work in neuroscience. Since the award was introduced in 1977, it has funded more than 260 innovative investigators and spurred hundreds of breakthrough discoveries.
Dr. Kurshan investigates how synapses—the connections between neurons—are assembled and how defects in their assembly can lead to neurodevelopmental problems such as autism spectrum disorders. The McKnight award will support Dr. Kurshan’s research aimed at unraveling the mechanisms of synapse development, from molecules to behavior.
McKnight Scholar Award recipients receive $75,000 per year for three years.
Peri T. Kurshan, Ph.D. 
