Joseph L. Price, PhD

Joseph L. Price, PhD, professor of anatomy and neurobiology, is honored for his outstanding contributions to medical student education.

Price is widely recognized as an exceptional and dedicated educator. He has had a significant impact on neuroscience education at Washington University, having taught for more than 40 years in the medical school’s Gross Anatomy and Neuroscience courses and the graduate school’s Neural Systems course, serving as coursemaster for much of that time. He has been instrumental in implementing a Virtual Microscopy System for central nervous system slides, now an integral part of the neuroscience curriculum. He has supervised eight PhD students, including two who won the O’Leary Prize for best neuroscience thesis, and many undergraduates, most of whom went on to earn medical and/or doctoral degrees.

In the classroom, Price is valued as an enthusiastic teacher who excels at communicating intricate neuroscience and neuroanatomy concepts. He was given the Pre-clinical Teacher of the Year award by Washington University medical students in 1984 and several Distinguished Service Teaching Awards more recently. Price’s research on the brain has provided insight into several topics, including cerebral cortex organization, mood disorders and Alzheimer’s disease.

Price received his bachelor’s degree from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn. in 1963, and then was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship for study at the University of Oxford. There, he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1966 and a doctoral degree in 1969. Price joined the Washington University faculty in 1969. He retired in July 2013 but is still teaching. Price’s honors for research include the C.J. Herrick Award, the Javits Neuroscience Investigation Award and the Krieg Cortical Discoverer Award.