Career
He is recognized for his work on optogenetics. In this technology, a light-sensitive ion channel such as channelrhodopsin-2 is genetically expressed in neurons, allowing neuronal activity to be controlled by light. Optogenetics in this way has been widely adopted by neuroscientists as a research tool, and it is also thought to have potential therapeutic applications.
Boyden joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty in 2007, and continues to develop new optogenetic tools as well as other technologies for the manipulation of brain activity.
Previously, Boyden received degrees in electrical engineering, computer science, and physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During high school, Boyden attended the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science. In 2008 Boyden was named by Discover Magazine as one of the top 20 scientists under 40.
In 2006, he was named to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Technology Review TR35 as one of the top 35 innovators in the world under the age of 35. On November 29, 2015, Edward Boyden was one of five scientists honored with the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, awarded for “transformative advances toward understanding living systems and extending human life.”.