John P. Walsh is an American academic who is an associate professor at the USC Davis School of Gerontology as well as a member of USC's Neuroscience Program. His main research interest is the physiology of basal ganglia-related brain disease.
Career
Walsh's research career focuses on understanding how synapses in the basal ganglia, and in particular, corticostriatal synapses are modified by use or experience and how these use-dependent changes in synapses strength translate into behavior. A particular focus has been the role played by dopamine in guiding "plasticity" at corticostriatal synapses and how pathology in dopamine function in disease impacts the ability of the basal ganglia to process information.
Walsh is also a dedicated surfer and was interviewed on the brain chemistry and biological advantages of UFC fighter Randy Couture on the ESPN2 special The Body Issue in 2010. He has spoke to the health news outlet Being Patient on how exercise improves body and brain heath for Parkinson's disease patients and to CNBC on what people should know about working into one's 80s.
Along with his traditional lecture courses, Walsh also leads an annual "Maymester" course at USC, bringing students to two "Blue Zones": Nicoya, Costa Rica and Loma Linda, California. He has spoken to popular press, including Los Angeles Times and SFGate, about the factors affecting lifespan, health and well-being in Blue Zones in general and in Loma Linda in particular.
Honors and awards Walsh received the USC Provost Prize for Teaching with Technology in 2008 as well as earning a $149,891 grant by the National Science Foundation to create an online learning tool. and Walsh won a $199,076 grant by the National Science Foundation for their Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science (TUES) Program to supervise the development of the online multimedia teaching-tool
Selected Publications
References