Czerner, Thomas B. 1938–

PERSONAL: Born September 27, 1938, in Prague, Czechoslovakia; son of Max and Irma (Froelich) Czerner; married Cynthia Silvert Wax, November 21, 1967; children: Suzanne, Elizabeth. Education: University of Illinois, Urbana, B.A., 1959; University of Illinois, Chicago, M.D., 1962.

ADDRESSES: Office—3838 California St., San Francisco, CA, 94118-1522.

CAREER: Doctor and educator. Opthalmologist in private practice, San Francisco, CA. University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco, clinical professor of ophthalmology, 1971–; senior faculty consultant to Ophthalmology Residency Training Program, California Pacific Medical Center. Military service: U.S. Navy, 1962–64; attained rank of lieutenant commander.

WRITINGS:

What Makes You Tick?: The Brain in Plain English, Wiley (New York, NY), 2001, published as What Makes the Brain Tick?, Wiley (Chichester, England) 2001.

SIDELIGHTS: Czech-born Thomas B. Czerner is a practicing physician and a professor of ophthalmology at San Francisco's University of California School of Medicine. His interest in the eye's connection to brain activity "shines through," according to a Science News reviewer, in his 2001 book, What Makes You Tick?: The Brain in Plain English. In his book Czerner serves up "reader-friendly reports of advances in neuroscience," according to the same reviewer. Reviewing the British edition in Chemistry and Industry, neuroscientist Amy Johnston called Czerner's concise approach a "whistle-stop tour of the human brain and mind." Johnston deemed Czerner's book "a good introduction for the reader who would like to taste the field and perhaps delve further in the future," while a Science for Success critic appraised What Makes You Tick? as "a fascinating look at how our brain functions."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chemistry and Industry, December 17, 2001, Amy Johnston, review of What Makes the Brain Tick?, p. 805.

Science News, March 9, 2002, review of What Makes You Tick?: The Brain in Plain English, p. 159.

ONLINE

Science for Success, http://www.scienceforsuccess.com/ (September 13, 2005), review of What Makes You Tick?