Dr. Fields' long-standing interest is in nervous system plasticity. His laboratory is exploring the molecular mechanism that regulate the structure and function of the nervous system in response to neural impulse activity during development and in relation to learning and memory, and the interactions between neurons and glia. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, founder of the the journal Neuron Glia Biology, and member of the editorial boards of several other journals in the field of neuroscience. He received his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1975. He received an M.A. degree in 1979 at San Jose State University, and a Ph.D. degree from the University of California, San Diego, working jointly in the Medical School and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford University, Yale University, and the NIH. He became Head of the Neurocytology and Physiology Unit, NICHD in 1994, and Chief of the Nervous System Development and Plasticity Section, NICHD in 2001.