Carol A. Barnes is a Regents Professor in the Departments of Psychology, Neurology, and Neuroscience at the University of Arizona, holding the Evelyn F. McKnight Endowed Chair for Learning and Memory in Aging. She also serves as Director of the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute and the Division of Neural Systems, Memory, and Aging. A prominent figure in neuroscience, Dr. Barnes is a past-president of the Society for Neuroscience, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a Foreign Member of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters. Her numerous accolades include the 2013 Gerard Prize in Neuroscience and the 2014 APA Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions.

Dr. Barnes’ research focuses on understanding the brain’s changes during normative aging and their functional implications for memory. Her work spans behavioral, electrophysiological, and molecular biological approaches, studying young and aged rodents, non-human primates, and, more recently, humans through the Precision Aging Network. This program aims to enhance cognitive health across the lifespan, and her findings, with over 285 published works (H-index of 112), are considered foundational in brain aging and behavior.

Over the past four decades, Dr. Barnes has examined the mechanisms of cognitive aging using animal models that provide insight into the brain circuits underlying learning, memory, and complex cognitive function. Integrating behavioral, anatomical, electrophysiological, and molecular approaches, her work aspires to unlock how brain function changes across the lifespan, with the ultimate hope of positively influencing cognitive aging trajectories.