He received his B.A. in neuroscience from Boston University and went on to receive his Ph.D. in neuroscience at MIT. His work focuses on artificially modulating memories in the rodent brain, and his current work focuses on leveraging these manipulations to alleviate symptoms associated with psychiatric diseases. Steve has also received the Smithsonian's American Ingenuity award, National Geographic's Breakthrough Explorer prize, Forbes and Technology Review's Top 35 Innovators Under 35 award, and has given two TED talks.