Headshot of Anthony Zador.

Anthony Zador

Professor of biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory;
Contributing editor, The Transmitter

Anthony Zador is Alle Davis Harris Professor of Biology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. The goal of his research is to understand the neural circuits underlying sensorimotor decision-making. His laboratory pioneered the use of rodents in complex decision-making tasks and developed a novel suite of approaches, including MAPseq and BARseq, for determining brain wiring using high-throughput DNA sequencing. His current research interests include neuroscience-inspired artificial intelligence. He is the co-founder of several meetings, including Computational and Systems Neuroscience and From Neuroscience to Artificially Intelligent Systems.

Zador received his M.D. and Ph.D. from Yale University and did postdoctoral work at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, before joining the faculty at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Explore more from The Transmitter

Mother mouse and her offspring.

Maternity induces lasting gene-expression changes in mouse brains

The findings add to a small but growing body of research on neurological changes linked to pregnancy, birth and parenting.

By Amber Dance
12 June 2026 | 5 min read
Map of socioeconomic opportunity in the United States next to visualizations of functional connectivity and structure in sensory and motor cortices.

IQ’s link to brain structure, function in children may be a mirage

A child’s socioeconomic status, screen time and amount of sleep all show stronger associations with measures of brain structure and function, according to an imaging study of nearly 12,000 9- to 10-year-olds.

By Natalia Mesa
11 June 2026 | 5 min read
Photo collage of Tempest McDonald.

When autistic kids grow up, Chapter 2: “You need to go to college”

With just a high school equivalency degree and struggling as a single mother, Tempest McDonald is forced to shift her priorities.

By Brady Huggett
11 June 2026 | 28 min listen