Professor Cathy Price stands as a world-leading authority in cognitive neuroscience whose pioneering work has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of language processing in the human brain. She holds the position of Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London and serves as Director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, leadership roles that underscore her international prominence in the field. Price earned both her bachelor's degree in 1984 and PhD in 1990 from Birkbeck College, where she developed the foundational expertise that would later propel her to the forefront of brain imaging research. Initially trained as a neuropsychologist studying reading and object recognition in patients with brain damage, she transitioned to neuroimaging in 1991 when she joined the Medical Research Council cyclotron unit at the inception of human brain mapping, establishing herself as an innovative researcher bridging theoretical neuroscience with clinical applications.
Price's groundbreaking research has revolutionized our understanding of how language specialization emerges through dynamic cross-talk among brain regions rather than isolated specialized centers, challenging decades of conventional wisdom in cognitive neuroscience. Her development of comprehensive functional anatomical models of language processing has provided critical insights into speech and language difficulties following brain damage from stroke or neurosurgery, establishing frameworks that predict recovery trajectories with unprecedented accuracy. The clinical impact of her work is profound, directly informing rehabilitation strategies for patients with aphasia through the development of neuroimaging tools that predict and explain recovery from speech and language impairments. Her research has transformed our understanding of how the brain supports language processing across multiple domains including speech perception, speech production, semantic memory and reading, with her theoretical frameworks providing essential guidance for neurological rehabilitation worldwide.
As a Fellow of the Royal Society, the British Academy, and the Academy of Medical Sciences, Price represents the pinnacle of scholarly recognition across multiple disciplines, reflecting the broad impact of her interdisciplinary work. She has received numerous prestigious awards including the Ipsen Foundation Neuropsychology Prize in 2012 and the 5th Suffrage Award for Life Sciences in 2018, recognizing both her scientific contributions and her role as a trailblazer for women in science. Price has cultivated a distinguished legacy through mentorship, with notable students like Maria Luiso Gorno-Tempini establishing independent careers that extend her scientific influence globally. Looking forward, she continues to pioneer the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning with neuroimaging to develop increasingly precise tools for predicting recovery from language impairments, ensuring her work remains at the cutting edge of translational neuroscience while maintaining her steadfast commitment to bridging fundamental science with tangible clinical benefits for patients.
