Hannah Marion Critchlow (born 1980) is a British scientist, writer and broadcaster. Her academic research has focused on cellular and molecular neuroscience.[1][2][3][4] In 2014 the Science Council named her as one of the ten leading "communicator scientists" in the UK.[5] In 2019 Nature listed her as one of Cambridge Universities "Rising Stars in Biological Sciences".[6] In 2022 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Brunel University for her work in neuroscience and communication.[7]
Hannah Critchlow | |
|---|---|
 Critchlow by the River Cam | |
| Born | Hannah Marion Critchlow 1980 (age 43–44) Leicester, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Brunel University (BSc) University of Cambridge (PhD) |
| Children | 1 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neuroscience |
| Institutions | University of Cambridge University of Oxford |
| Thesis | The Role of Dendritic Spine Plasticity in Schizophrenia (2008) |
| Website | neuroscience |
Early life and education
editCritchlow decided on a career in neuroscience as a teenager after working as a nursing assistant at St Andrew's Hospital.[8][9][10] She studied Cell and Molecular Biology at Brunel University,[9][10] where she was awarded a First Class degree in 2003 along with three undergraduate University Prizes.[11] While studying at Brunel she had secured a work placement from GlaxoSmithKline, who with the Medical Research Council provided a CASE Award for her doctoral[12] studies at the University of Cambridge.[9][11]
Career and research
editFollowing completion of her PhD, Critchlow spent a year as a Kingsley Bye-Fellow at Magdalene College, Cambridge[11] and then a further year as a researcher at the Institute for the Future of the Mind,[11] funded by the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford.[13] In 2008 she returned to Cambridge, where she has been professionally based ever since, apart from a one-year secondment to the British Neuroscience Association in 2010–2011.[11][8]
In parallel with her research career, Critchlow began to establish herself as an effective science communicator and public face of science. She took part in a Rising Stars programme run by the University of Cambridge's Public Engagement team in 2011[14] and, together with the cosmologist Andrew Pontzen, produced a series of Naked Shorts on their research for the award-winning podcast The Naked Scientists.[11][14] A series of talks developed by Critchlow to take to schools and public festivals led to her giving a talk on "brain myths" at the Hay Literary Festival in 2015 that attracted national and international media interest.[15][16][17] This led in turn to her being commissioned by Penguin Books to write an introductory book on Consciousness[18] and to presenting Tomorrow's World Live for the BBC[19] and Family Brain Games.[20] In 2017 Critchlow was appointed as a Science Outreach Fellow by Magdalene College, Cambridge[11][8][18] She was a judge for the 2018 Wellcome Book Prize.[21] In 2019 she was elected member of the prestigious European Dana Alliance of the Brain and named by Nature as one of Cambridge University's 'Rising Stars in Life Sciences' [6] in recognition for her achievements in science engagement. That same year her second book was published called The Science of Fate and made it onto the Sunday Times Bestseller list.[22]
Publications
editBooks
edit- Critchlow, Hannah (25 August 2022). Joined up Thinking: The Power of Collective Intelligence to Change Our Lives. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 9781529398397.
- Critchlow, Hannah (2 May 2019). The Science of Fate: Why Your Future is More Predictable Than You Think. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-1473659285.
- Critchlow, Hannah (14 June 2018). Consciousness. illus. Stephen Player. London, England: Penguin, Ladybird Books. ISBN 978-0-7181-8911-2.
Selected articles
edit- Critchlow, Hannah M; Herrington, Paul; Gunton, Simon (1 February 2012). "Inside an unquiet mind: Music and science join forces to explore mental ill health". EMBO Reports. 13 (2): 95–99. doi:10.1038/embor.2011.255. PMC 3271342. PMID 22240971.
- Critchlow, HM; Maycox, PR; Skepper, JN; Krylova, O (August 2006). "Clozapine and haloperidol differentially regulate dendritic spine formation and synaptogenesis in rat hippocampal neurons". Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience. 32 (4): 356–365. doi:10.1016/j.mcn.2006.05.007. PMID 16844384. S2CID 33783762.
- Critchlow, HM; Payne, A; Griffin, DK (August 2006). "Genes and proteins involved in the control of meiosis". Cytogenetic and Genome Research. 105 (1): 4–10. doi:10.1159/000078002. PMID 15218251. S2CID 46245478.
References
edit- ^ Critchlow, Hannah (2018). Consciousness. illus. Stephen Player. London, England: Ladybird Books. ISBN 978-0-7181-8911-2.
- ^ Critchlow, Hannah M; Herrington, Paul; Gunton, Simon (1 February 2012). "Inside an unquiet mind: Music and science join forces to explore mental ill health". EMBO Reports. 13 (2): 95–99. doi:10.1038/embor.2011.255. PMC 3271342. PMID 22240971.
- ^ Critchlow, HM; Maycox, PR; Skepper, JN; Krylova, O (2006). "Clozapine and haloperidol differentially regulate dendritic spine formation and synaptogenesis in rat hippocampal neurons". Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience. 32 (4): 356–365. doi:10.1016/j.mcn.2006.05.007. PMID 16844384. S2CID 33783762.
- ^ Critchlow, HM; Payne, A; Griffin, DK (2006). "Clozapine and haloperidol differentially regulate dendritic spine formation and synaptogenesis in rat hippocampal neurons". Cytogenetic and Genome Research. 105 (1): 4–10. doi:10.1159/000078002. PMID 15218251. S2CID 46245478.
- ^ "The UK's 100 leading practising scientists". 17 January 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ a b "Top 10 institutions for life sciences in 2018". Nature. 19 June 2019. doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01925-w.
- ^ "What's happening at Winter grads". students.brunel.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ a b c "Dr Hannah Critchlow :: Cambridge Neuroscience". www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ a b c Gordon, Bryony (27 June 2015). "Meet the female Brian Cox". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ a b Saner, Emine (18 May 2018). "Neuroscientist Hannah Critchlow: 'Consciousness is a really funny word'". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Dr Hannah Critchlow". Magdalene College. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ Critchlow, Hannah Marion (2008). The role of dendritic spine plasticity in schizophrenia. jisc.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge. OCLC 890154350. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.612238.
- ^ "About - Institute for the Future of the Mind - Programmes". Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ a b "Busting brain myths". 4 May 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ Knapton, Sarah (25 May 2015). "Humans could download brains on to a computer and live forever". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ Waugh, Rob (26 May 2015). "Someone just claimed that left-handed people really ARE more creative". Metro. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ Bennhold, Katrin (2 June 2015). "At the Hay Festival, Democratizing Inspiration". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ a b "Hannah Critchlow". www.penguin.co.uk. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ "Watch: Tomorrow's World Live - Move to Mars". BBC Guides. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ "The Family Brain Games". Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ "2018 - Wellcome Book Prize". wellcomebookprize.org. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ "The Sunday Times Bestsellers, May 19". Retrieved 26 September 2019.