Mensa Foundation Prize Awarded to Neuroscientist-Pianist

HURST, Texas - Rezul -- Fredrik Ullén, Ph.D., MPA, a cognitive neuroscientist and world-class concert pianist, has been awarded the fifth Mensa Foundation Prize for his pioneering work demonstrating how developing expertise physically reshapes the brain and correlates with intelligence.

The biennial Mensa Foundation Prize honors the best discoveries in intelligence and creativity and is endowed by the estate of Kenneth Douglas Thomson (1934-2013), a longtime Mensa member. The award, which includes a $10,000 prize, will be presented July 2 at American Mensa's Annual Gathering in Chicago.

Dr. Ullén's career bridges both science and the arts. At Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Germany, he leads research that connects culture, cognition, and health. His best-known work uses music practice as a model to explore how skill acquisition alters brain structure. Through studies using diffusion MRI, his team has shown that expert musicians develop enhanced white matter pathways in areas tied to motor control, hearing, and higher-order cognition — changes that scale with experience and are linked to intelligence.

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"I personally think we can be rather happy with the fact that both genes and environments matter for individual differences," Dr. Ullén said. "The trick to realize your potential is, of course, to find what you really like to do and have an aptitude for, and then focus on developing that further through deliberate, goal-directed practice."

The Mensa Foundation's Prize Committee praised Dr. Ullén's innovative approach to understanding intelligence through the lens of neuroplasticity and genetic-environment interaction. "Dr. Ullén has made a science of unleashing intelligence, integrating the worlds of music, brain pathways, and human cognition," said Committee Chair Dr. Harry Ringermacher, a physicist and Mensa member.

Mensa Foundation President Nguyen Pham echoed that sentiment. "As a former young pianist (and forever nerd) myself, I feel personally connected to and uplifted by Dr. Ullén's revolutionary work at the intersection of art and science," Pham said. "By honoring and investing in this groundbreaking research, the Foundation is proud to further the understanding of human intelligence."

Dr. Ullén's research has also clarified why practice impacts individuals differently. His team's large-scale population and twin studies demonstrate that intelligence, personality, genetics, and environment all shape how effectively practice leads to expertise. His Multifactorial Gene-Environment Interaction Model has helped move the field beyond simplistic "practice-only" theories.

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In addition to his scientific career, Dr. Ullén is internationally known as a concert pianist and recording artist. He is the first pianist to record the complete 100 Transcendental Studies of composer Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, an eight-hour landmark in modern piano literature.

The first Mensa Foundation Prize was awarded in 2017 to Dr. David Silver for AI research. Subsequent recipients have included neuroscientist Dr. Aron K. Barbey (2019), statistical geneticist Dr. Danielle Posthuma (2021), and NIH neuroscientist Dr. R. Douglas Fields (2023).

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The Mensa Foundation is committed to creating a community of individuals who share a passion for lifelong learning, curiosity, and making a positive impact in the world. Governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees, the Foundation is funded by philanthropic support from people from all walks of life. To learn more about the Mensa Foundation, please visit MensaFoundation.org.