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John O’Keefe—one of the three winners of this year’s Nobel Prize for Medicine—is a graduate of Regis High School in Manhattan. According to the Jesuit school’s president, he perfectly epitomizes the philosophical motto that all students are taught, “Go forth and set the world on fire.”
Commenting on O’Keefe’s “extraordinary accomplishment,” the school president, Father Philip G. Judge, S.J., said the member of the Regis’ Class of 1957 “is a testament to that philosophy and, though his career has moved him quite some distance from East 84th Street, we are proud that he brought the spirit of Regis with him as he set out to make a difference in the world.”
O’Keefe was awarded the Nobel Prize along with Norwegian colleagues Edward and May-Britt Moser who are both professors at the University of Science and Technology in Norway. The award was announced Oct. 6 in Stockholm, Sweden.
The research of O’Keefe and his partners identified the “inner GPS” in the brain. In other words, they found out how the brain works to allow people to find their way around. Their work changed how cells work together to perform cognitive functions. Among other things, their findings can be used in coming to a better understanding of diseases like Alzheimer’s.
O’Keefe, 75, is now the director of the Sainsbury Wellcome Center in Neural Circuits and Behavior at University College in London.
Born in New York City to immigrant Irish parents, O'Keefe attended the boys’ scholarship high school before he earned his bachelor’s degree from City College of New York and a doctorate in physiological psychology at McGill University in Montreal. In the 1960s he moved to Europe and now holds both United States and British citizenship.
“That long-distance move in that time period made contact with classmates and institutions back home very difficult,” Father Judge said.
Christopher Hillenbrand, a science enthusiast and member of the class of 2015 at Regis, told CNY, “It's very exciting to have a Regis alumnus win such a prestigious award; I'm sure it makes us students all feel some school pride!
“I hope Professor O'Keefe's research will inspire current and future Regis students to consider careers in science,” he said.
“Generally speaking, Regis attracts competitive and motivated students, so the school is able to offer a broad curriculum with a high academic standard. The purpose of attending a college preparatory high school is to acquire a solid grasp of the fundamental subjects, and to—if you are lucky—start to develop interest in some field of choice.”
He added, “In my opinion, the conditions at Regis are very conducive to achieving these goals. Professor O'Keefe's success affirms this.”
