Yale Scientist Receives “New Nobel’’ Prize—Will Share $1 Million Prize for Brain Research

Pasko Rakic of New Haven, left, receives the Kavli Prize for Neuroscience from His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon Magnus at a ceremony in Oslo. (Photo Courtesy: The Norwegian Academy of Science & Letters. Credit: Hakon Mosvold Larsen/Scanpix)

Yale University’s Pasko Rakic, one of the world’s top neurobiologists, received the inaugural Kavli Foundation Prize for Neuroscience during a ceremony on Sept. 9, 2008 in Norway.

The Yale University School of Medicine neurobiologist shares a $1 million prize with Sten Grillner of Karolinska Institute of Sweden and Thomas Jessell of Columbia University. The prize was brainchild of philanthropist and entrepreneur Fred Kavli and has been called the “New Nobel.”

The Kavli Prizes are designed to bring recognition to top scientific enterprises not covered by Nobel prizes. They were created and endowed by Fred Kavli, Norwegian born entrepreneur and philanthropist.