Oswald Steward
Biography
Oswald Steward, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Neurobiology & Behavior, and Neurosurgery and Founding Director of the Reeve-Irvine Research Center at the University of California, Irvine College of Medicine. He received his Ph.D. in Biology (Psychobiology) from the University of California, Irvine in 1974. Steward's research focuses on cellular and molecular mechanisms of repair following central nervous system injury, axon regeneration and synaptogenesis, activity-dependent synaptic plasticity, and the sorting and intracellular transport of RNA in neurons. His work has established fundamental principles regarding the local synthesis of proteins at synaptic sites on dendrites and the role of mRNA trafficking in synaptic plasticity and memory formation.
Steward served as President of the Society for Neuroscience in 2022-23 and was a member of the Independent Citizen's Oversight Committee governing board for the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine from 2004 to 2021, where he also served on the Governance Committee and co-chaired the Science Subcommittee. He received the Jacob Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from 1987 to 1994 and the NINDS Landis Award for Outstanding Mentorship in 2020. He was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2008 and is a member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives.
Throughout his career, Steward has held endowed professorships including the Harrison Foundation Professor of Neuroscience and Neurosurgery at the University of Virginia (1990-1999) and the Reeve-Irvine Chair at UC Irvine (1999-present). He served as Senior Associate Dean for Research at UC Irvine School of Medicine from 2012 to 2017. At the University of Virginia, he was Founding Chair of the Department of Neuroscience from 1988 to 1999.
Return to topEducation
- B.A. in Psychology, University of Colorado, Boulder, 1970
- Ph.D. in Biology (Psychobiology), University of California, Irvine, 1974
Distinctions
- Member, Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2008
- President, Society for Neuroscience, 2022-2023
- NINDS Landis Award for Outstanding Mentorship, 2020
- WCBR Pioneer Award, 2018
- Jacob Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award, 1987-1994
- NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Award, National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, 1998
- Athalie Clarke Achievement Award, 2016
- Reeve-Irvine Chair of Anatomy & Neurobiology and Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California, Irvine, 1999-present
- OASI Institute International Award for Brain Dysfunction Research (with E.W. Rubel), 1991
Areas of Expertise
- Neuroplasticity and Regeneration
- Spinal Cord Injury Mechanisms
- Dendritic Protein Synthesis
- Synaptic Reorganization Following Denervation
- PTEN Deletion Axon Regeneration
- Arc mRNA Localization
- Motor Function Recovery Assessment
Recent Publications
- Yonan, J.M., Chen, K.D., Baram, T.Z., Steward, O., “PTEN deletion in the adult dentate gyrus induces epilepsy” (opens in new tab), Neurobiology of Disease, vol. 203, pp. 106736, 2024.
- Chen, V.Y., Gonzales, L.P., Johnson, T.R., Steward, O., Gupta, R., “Preoperative muscle biopsy to assess motor end plate integrity as a predictor for successful nerve transfer” (opens in new tab), Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, vol. 13, 2023.
- Yonan, J.M., Steward, O., “Vector-mediated PTEN deletion in the adult dentate gyrus initiates new growth of granule cell bodies and dendrites and expansion of mossy fiber terminal fields that continues for months” (opens in new tab), Neurobiology of Disease, vol. 184, 2023.
- Metcalfe, M., Steward, O., “PTEN deletion in spinal pathways via retrograde transduction with AAV-retro enhances forelimb motor recovery after cervical spinal cord injury; sex differences and late-onset pathophysiologies” (opens in new tab), Experimental Neurology, vol. 370, pp. 114551, 2023.
- Smith, G.M., Steward, O., Bradbury, E.J., “Gene modification after spinal cord injury: Mechanisms and therapeutics” (opens in new tab), Exp. Neurol. Special Issue, vol. 356, pp. 114156, 2022.
- Steward, O., Yonan, J.M., Falk, P., “The curious anti-pathology of the Wlds mutation; paradoxical postsynaptic spine growth accompanies delayed presynaptic Wallerian degeneration” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, vol. 14, pp. 193, 2022.
- Metcalfe, M., Yee, K.M., Luo, J., Martin-Thompson, J.H., Gandhi, S.P., Steward, O., “Harnessing rAAV-retro for gene manipulations in multiple pathways that are interrupted after spinal cord injury” (opens in new tab), Experimental Neurology, vol. 350, pp. 113965, 2022.
- Steward, O., Yee, K.M., Metcalfe, M., Willenberg, R., Luo, J., Azevedo, R., Martin-Thompson, J., Gandhi, S.P., “Rostro-caudal specificity of corticospinal tract projections in mice” (opens in new tab), Cerebral Cortex, vol. 31, pp. 2322-2344, 2021.
- Steward, O., Coulibaly, A.P., Metcalfe, M., Dam, J.M., Yee, K.M., “AAV vectors accumulate in the pineal gland after injections into the brain or spinal cord” (opens in new tab), Molecular Therapy Methods and Clinical Development, vol. 23, pp. 406-417, 2021.
Most Cited Publications
- Keirstead H.S., Nistor G., Bernal G., Totoiu M., Cloutier F., Sharp K., Steward O., “Human embryonic stem cell-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cell transplants remyelinate and restore locomotion after spinal cord injury” (opens in new tab), Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 25, pp. 4694-4705, 2005.
- Steward, O., “Topographic organization of the projections from the entorhinal area to the hippocampal formation of the rat” (opens in new tab), Journal of Comparative Neurology, vol. 167, pp. 285-314, 1976.
- Steward, O., Wallace, C.S., Lyford, G.L., Worley, P.F., “Synaptic activation causes the mRNA for the immediate early gene Arc to localize selectively near activated postsynaptic sites on neuronal dendrites” (opens in new tab), Neuron, vol. 21, pp. 741-751, 1998.
- Steward, O., Scoville, S.A., “Cells of origin of entorhinal cortical afferents to the hippocampus and fascia dentata of the rat” (opens in new tab), Journal of Comparative Neurology, vol. 169, pp. 347-370, 1976.
- Levy, W.B., Steward, O., “Temporal contiguity requirements for long-term associative potentiation/depression in the hippocampus” (opens in new tab), Neuroscience, vol. 7, pp. 791-797, 1983.
- Steward, O., Levy, W.B., “Preferential localization of polyribosomes under the base of dendritic spines in granule cells of the dentate gyrus” (opens in new tab), Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 2, pp. 284-291, 1982.
- Schauwecker, P.E., Steward, O., “Genetic determinants of susceptibility to excitotoxic cell death: Implications for gene targeting approaches” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 94, pp. 4103-4108, 1997.
- Levy, W.B., Steward, O., “Synapses as associative memory elements in the hippocampal formation” (opens in new tab), Brain Research, vol. 175, pp. 233-245, 1979.
- Steward, O., Worley, P.F., “Selective targeting of newly-synthesized Arc mRNA to active synapses requires NMDA receptor activation” (opens in new tab), Neuron, vol. 30, pp. 227-240, 2001.
- Zheng, B., Ho, C., Keirstead, H., Steward, O., Tessier-Lavigne, M., “Lack of enhanced spinal regeneration in Nogo-deficient mice” (opens in new tab), Neuron, vol. 38, pp. 213-224, 2003.
Contact Information
Email: osteward@uci.edu
Phone: (949) 824-8908
Address: 1101 Gillespie Neuroscience Research Facility
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Last updated on 8/19/2026.