Jones’ Cerebral Legacy

Upper Hutt-born neuroscientist Dr Edward “Ted” Jones, who was an expert on brain anatomy and the causes of schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders, has died in Los Angeles, aged 72. Jones retired in 29 as director of the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience but remained a professor in the Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology. His studies showed that seemingly minute abnormalities in human brains can cause chemical imbalances and lead to schizophrenia and other long-term nervous disorders. His research formed a basis for understanding recovery of function after strokes or cerebral trauma. Jones earned a medical degree from the University of Otago and a doctorate in neuroanatomy from the University of Oxford in England. He built his reputation as a top neuroanatomist in academic posts in New Zealand and at Oxford, Washington University in St. Louis and UC Irvine (where he taught from 1984 to 1988). After leading brain research at RIKEN science institute in Japan, he joined UC Davis in 1998. Jones belonged to a group of scientists working on the international Human Brain Project. A former president of the international Society for Neuroscience, he was a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr Edward Jones: March 26 1939 – June 6 2011