Mount St. Mary’s alumnus David Ginty wins world’s largest brain research prize March 11, 2026By Catholic Review Staff Catholic Review Filed Under: Colleges, Local News, News Dr. David Ginty, a 1984 graduate of Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, has been named a recipient of The Brain Prize, the world’s largest neuroscience research award. Ginty, a Harvard professor, earned the award for groundbreaking discoveries that reveal how specialized nerve cells and spinal circuits allow people to sense touch and why that touch can become painful or overwhelming in certain disorders. His research has defined key types of sensory neurons throughout the body and mapped how their signals travel into the spinal cord and up to the brain, paving the way for new approaches to treating touch over-reactivity and chronic pain. Ginty’s fascination with how we perceive the world began during his undergraduate years at Mount St. Mary’s. “I was incredibly fortunate to land at the Mount, where professors who really cared about teaching and mentoring opened my eyes to the possibility of a life in science,” Ginty said in a Mount St. Mary’s news release. “By the time I was graduating, I thought to myself, I want to be doing something like that – I want to be able to take my curiosity and explore.” Ginty is now the department chair and the Edward R. and Anne G. Lefler Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He received his Ph.D. in physiology from East Carolina University and completed postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School. He was a professor of neuroscience at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore before returning to Harvard Medical School in 2013. The Ginty laboratory uses a combination of molecular genetic, physiological, anatomical and behavioral approaches to gain understanding of the development, organization and function of neural circuits that underlie the sense of touch. Ginty’s findings have defined the functional properties of somatosensory neuron types across the body, including enigmatic peripheral sensory neuron endings discovered by anatomists over 150 years ago. His laboratory also discovered mechanisms of touch neuron activation and organizational principles of the local spinal cord as well as spinal ascending pathways for touch and pain. Ongoing work is defining the basis of somatosensory system dysfunction in developmental disorders and chronic pain states including therapeutic opportunities to treat touch over-reactivity and pain. The Brain Prize, a gold medal and $1.5 million, is awarded each year by the Lundbeck Foundation. It recognizes highly original and influential advances in any area of brain research, from basic neuroscience to applied clinical research. Recipients of The Brain Prize may be of any nationality and work in any country in the world. Since it was first awarded in 2011, The Brain Prize has been awarded to 49 scientists from 11 different countries. Read More Local News 2026 Distinctive Scholars recognized Sister Marie Anna (Rose de Lima) Stelmach, O.P., dies at 80 Archbishop Lori urges respect, dialogue after Trump-pope tensions Catholics nurture environment in gardens, yards and beyond Xaverian Brother Charles Warthen dies at 92 St. Michael-St. Clement School will close at end of academic year Copyright © 2026 Catholic Review Media Print
