An American neuroscientist and author, born in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. She holds a doctorate in neuroscience from Harvard University. She has been able to achieve fame since her first independently published novel in 2007, entitled Still Alice. The success of the novel led publishing house Simon & Schuster to sign a contract with her in 2009, and her book sold 2.6 million printed copies and was translated into 37 languages. Her novel also won the Bront Prize in 2008.