“In 2005 neuroscientists mistrusted neurotechnology”

Awarded the 8th Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biology and Biomedicine, neuroscientist Edward Boyden details in this interview how his innovations in neuroengineering—including optogenetics and expansion microscopy—are transforming the way the brain is studied. Boyden explains how these technologies allow researchers to observe and manipulate cells and neural circuits with unprecedented resolution, opening new possibilities for understanding brain function and the mechanisms of neurological disorders. His reflections highlight the role of engineering, biology, and physics in developing tools that are revolutionizing biomedical research and could drive future precision therapies in neuroscience.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biomedicine goes in this eighth edition to neuroscientists Edward Boyden, Karl Deisseroth and Gero Miesenböck for the development of optogenetics, a method to study brain function with unprecedented resolution.