Cliff Abraham

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Cliff Abraham
Abraham in 2009
Born
Wickliffe Carson Abraham

(1954-09-24) 24 September 1954 (age 71)
Hagerstown, Maryland, U.S.
Citizenship
  • New Zealand
  • United States
Alma materUniversity of Florida
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsNeuroscience (synaptic plasticity, memory)
InstitutionsUniversity of Otago
ThesisAn electrophysiological analysis of chronic ethanol effects on synaptic distribution and function in rat hippocampus (1981)
Doctoral advisors
  • Chuck Vierck
  • Don Walker
  • Keith Thompson
  • Keith Berg

Wickliffe Carson Abraham (born 24 September 1954) is a New Zealand neuroscientist and currently Poutoko Taiea Distinguished Professor, University of Otago. He is known for his work on synaptic plasticity and in particular, the phenomenon of "metaplasticity" (the plasticity of synaptic plasticity processes themselves). In 2025, he received the Rutherford Medal, the highest award offered by the Royal Society of New Zealand. He was head of the Department of Psychology at the University of Otago from 2003 to 2005, and served as president of the Australasian Neuroscience Society between 2019 and 2020.

Early life and education

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Abraham was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, United States, on 24 September 1954, the son of Stuart B. Abraham and Ida Jeanne Abraham (née Dagger).[1] He was educated at North Hagerstown High School, where he was co‑valedictorian in 1971.[2] He went on to study at the University of Virginia, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction in psychology.[3] He then completed his PhD at the University of Florida in 1981, supervised by Steven Zornetzer and Don Walker, with a thesis titled An electrophysiological analysis of chronic ethanol effects on synaptic distribution and function in rat hippocampus.[4]

Career

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Abraham undertook post-doctoral work at the University of Otago with Graham Goddard, and at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, with Hölger Wigstrom and Bengt Gustafsson in the Department of Physiology.[citation needed] In 1986, he returned to the University of Otago where he took up a lectureship (in the Department of Psychology, which was unusual for a neuroscientist at that time), where he has remained, becoming professor in 1998 and head of department from 2003 to 2005.[citation needed]

Research

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Abraham's work has focused on synaptic plasticity, which is the process by which synapses (the connections between neurons) change in strength following certain types of neural activity. The changes are thought to constitute one of the mechanisms of memory formation/storage. He has particularly explored the molecular mechanisms underlying such changes, which have possible implications for memory disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.[citation needed]

Honours and awards

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Abraham (centre) accepting the 2025 Rutherford Medal from Shane Reti (right) and Dame Cindy Kiro (left), at a ceremony at Government House, Wellington, on 11 November 2025

In 1997, Abraham was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand.[5] In 2006, he was awarded a James Cook Fellowship by the Royal Society of New Zealand for 2007–2008,[6] and in 2009 he received the University of Otago's Distinguished Research Medal.[7] In 2022, Abraham was awarded the Marsden Medal by the New Zealand Association of Scientists,[8] and in 2025 he received the Royal Society of New Zealand's highest research honour, the Rutherford Medal.[9]

Selected publications

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  • Abraham, Wickliffe C.; Jones, Owen D.; Glanzman, David L. (2019). "Is plasticity of synapses the mechanism of long-term memory storage?". npj Science of Learning. 4: 9.
  • Abraham, Wickliffe C. (2008). "Metaplasticity: tuning synapses and networks for plasticity". Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 9: 387–399.
  • Turner, Paul R.; O'Connor, Kate; Tate, Warren P.; Abraham, Wickliffe C. (2003). "Roles of amyloid precursor protein and its fragments in regulating neural activity, plasticity and memory". Progress in Neurobiology. 70: 1–32.
  • Abraham, Wickliffe C.; Bear, Mark F. (1996). "Metaplasticity: the plasticity of synaptic plasticity". Trends in Neurosciences. 19: 126–130.
  • Bear, Mark F.; Abraham, Wickliffe C. (1996). "Long-term depression in the hippocampus". Annual Reviews of Neuroscience. 19: 437–462.
  • Abraham, Wickliffe C.; Goddard, Graham V. (1983). "Asymmetric relations between homosynaptic long-term potentiation and heterosynaptic long-term depression". Nature. 305: 717–719.

References

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  1. ^ "Proud parents". Daily Mail. Vol. 126, no. 226. 25 September 1954. p. 6 – via NewspaperArchive.
  2. ^ Shepherd, Sandra; Costion, Peggy (12 June 1972). "City Highs graduate 892". Daily Mail. Vol. 144, no. 138. p. 1 – via NewspaperArchive.
  3. ^ "Professor Cliff Abraham". University of Otago. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  4. ^ "UF Digital Collections". ufdc.ufl.edu. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  5. ^ "List of all Fellows with surnames A–C". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  6. ^ "List of recipients of the James Cook Research Fellowships". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  7. ^ Gibb, John (19 September 2009). "Neuroscientist earns top distinction". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  8. ^ "The New Zealand Association of Scientists awards for 2022". New Zealand Science Review. 19 December 2022. doi:10.26686/nzsr.vi.8065.
  9. ^ "2025 Rutherford Medal: How the brain makes memories". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
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