Varda Lev-Ram completed her PhD at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, where her research integrated immunology, electrophysiology, and vital dyes optical imaging. During her postdoctoral studies, she explored the effects of cone snail toxins on nerve activity, as well as analyzed calcium transients in cerebellar Purkinje neurons and the roles of nitric oxide and cAMP in cerebellar long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression (LTD). Lev-Ram later became a Senior Project Scientist in Dr. Roger Y. Tsien’s lab at the University of California, San Diego, where her research focused on learning and memory. Specifically, she investigated the hypothesis that the pattern of holes in perineuronal nets holds the CODE for life-long memories.