

Eleanor Maguire
Learning and memory are so fundamental to us, so enmeshed throughout cognition, that ‘solving’ memory, unpacking its neural mechanisms and being able to conceptualise it fully will, I believe, result in revelations across neuroscience. And once that’s done (!), the whole point of this endeavour and the real work, to improve the lot of the memory-impaired in a rational and principled way and to inform education, can begin in earnest." - Eleanor Maguire, Current Biology, 22(24)
Welcome
This page has been set up by Eleanor's friends and colleagues to celebrate her life and her remarkable contributions to science. Please do share your memories of Eleanor using the "memory wall" or photo gallery below.
Gallery







Memory wall
Post your condolences or share your Memories.
February 5, 2025
An award scheme has been set up in Eleanor Maguire's memory at the Memory Disorders Research Society, of which Eleanor and I were both active members. Happy for individuals to contact me if they wish to make a donation – n.kapur@ucl.ac.uk
January 29, 2025
I will always remember you, sitted in the corner of the front room at the fil. Your eyes on the screen, your mind in action … and then as by magic you would turn around with a smile or a gentle word. I do not know how you could be so solid and determinated in what you did as well as so sociable and funny.
Science lost a great persons and we humans too 😔
Science lost a great persons and we humans too 😔

January 29, 2025
Eleanor was an outstanding scientist who contributed to the study of memory with audacious and innovating ideas and provided fundamental new knowledge. I had the chance to have several scientific encounters with her and I invited her to talk at the College de France in Paris. Her premature loss is dreadfull. We will miss her deply. I wish to send my condoleances to her familly.
Alain
Alain
January 25, 2025
For those who would like to listen to this beautiful Farewell song by the outstanding Irish singer Daniel O'Donnell, the link is below. The song is in harmony with the special music that was played at Eleanor's funeral on January 25, 2025.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7E7DsnvSNo&list=PLEgWGABkPxxrmRwBWeTsZtRdSh0fzcIGT&index=11
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7E7DsnvSNo&list=PLEgWGABkPxxrmRwBWeTsZtRdSh0fzcIGT&index=11
January 21, 2025
Very sad to hear this. I had the good fortune to collaborate with Eleanor about 25 years ago. It was such a privilege and pleasure to work with her - she was truly inspirational. My sincere condolences to her family and friends.
January 20, 2025
I hope my last goodbye & thank you Gmail message sent was seen by my first cousin Eleanor. I always was & will be proud to boast about the contributions made to science, especially "The Knowledge" experiment and awards received over the years. I will always be grateful for helping me through my research studies module and advice for creating my basic experimental design during my education at DCU. My heart is broken for my dearest auntie and uncle Anne & Paddy. Rest in peace E, Love Stephen.

January 20, 2025
We are saddened by the passing of Eleonor, our faithful and loved customer, we will always remember ❤️ you as our friend , Rest in peace. Our sincere condolences to the family. From Castiel's

January 20, 2025
I am heart broken to hear of Eleanor’s passing. She was a wonderful lady and a true pioneer in her field. I send my thoughts and prayers to her family in Ireland and all her friends and colleagues. RIP Eleanor.
January 20, 2025
Very saddening news to hear of the passing of Eleanor. I knew her from the beginning of the FIL as PhD student. From the start she had an amazing personality and interacted well with all her colleagues, meeting her a few years ago was a delight and privilege I know she will be sadly missed . My sincere condolences to her family RIP

January 20, 2025
I have just had a photo of Eleanor flash up on my computer screen - then disappear. Going online to try to recover it led me to this page. The sad news has taken my breath away, especially as I have for some time intended to contact her with a view to passing over a framed photograph in my possession of Eleanor and her fellow M.Sc. students at Swansea where she was one of my students. I hope others will not be offended if I say she was the star student - easily the most accomplished of all the students I have had the pleasure of teaching over the years before I retired. Not only that, but she was a delightful person to know. Modest and retiring, she hid her light under a bushel, but with an impish sense of humour and a ready smile. My deepest condolences go out to her family and friends.
January 20, 2025
Eleanor's passing is a great loss to science, to the field, and to the FIL. She was a great scientist, and a driving force for many of technological advances that continue to shape the department. Eleanor had a big heart, and one of our first closer interactions was when Professor Maguire casually and kindly invited me, then a junior post doc from the same department lost at a huge conference, to join her team for their dinner. It is impressive how she continued to pursue her science to the last moments. My heartfelt condolences to her family and colleagues.
January 16, 2025
What a bitter blow! Eleanor was a brilliant scientist, towering in the field of neuroscience despite her diminutive height! We were elected together to the Royal Society in 2016 and I will never forget her brilliant talk at the New Fellows seminar which started with a story about her aunt Mary ... She was so authoritative, so self deprecating and so utterly unforgettable. She was also so very stoic when we were in touch in 2023...
Her loss is a tragedy for her lovely parents whom I met, her family, colleagues, UCL, and many generations of students who would have benefited from her brilliance! And we must never forget that it was her work which first identified the change to the structure of hippocampus in taxi drivers (which was not acknowledged in recent media reports): https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.070039597...
Such a tragedy...
Her loss is a tragedy for her lovely parents whom I met, her family, colleagues, UCL, and many generations of students who would have benefited from her brilliance! And we must never forget that it was her work which first identified the change to the structure of hippocampus in taxi drivers (which was not acknowledged in recent media reports): https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.070039597...
Such a tragedy...
January 16, 2025
I am deeply saddened by this tragic loss. I will always remember Elena's kind and warm personality and her quiet scientific super-strength from when our paths crossed during these wonderful times at the FIL in 1995-1996. Elena's research was of great clinical significance. My sincere condolences to her family, friends and colleagues at the FIL.
January 15, 2025
Eleanor’s early studies on the neuroscience of superior memory have been very influential in developing my passion and ideas for investigating the neuronal correlates of outstanding memory performances, as demonstrated by memory athletes.
I always enjoyed meeting her at conferences and gained many ideas from our conversations. I am very saddened to hear about her passing.
My sincere condolences to everyone close to Eleanor; we will miss her but will never forget her.
I always enjoyed meeting her at conferences and gained many ideas from our conversations. I am very saddened to hear about her passing.
My sincere condolences to everyone close to Eleanor; we will miss her but will never forget her.
January 15, 2025
I was deeply saddened to hear such heartbreaking news. I had the privilege to meet Eleanor at the FIL when I was working in the Language Group (under the leadership of Cathy Price) between 2006 and 2015. She was truly an amazing person, and her absence will be profoundly felt by all who knew her. Eleanor left behind an incredible legacy, including a widely recognized work on the hippocampus of taxi drivers and being the mentor of the 2024 Nobel Prize winner Demis Hassabis.
Condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues.
Condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues.
January 15, 2025
I did my PhD at the ICN and FIL from 2009-14. Despite the brilliant project presentations by Eleanor's group, I didn't grasp the full extent of her fame as a neuroscientist until one curious night I stayed at work late. When I cycled home, I stopped somewhere in northeast London to ask a drunk and homeless man who had cut his hand with a bottle if he needed help. He didn't, but was more than happy to talk. When he asked what I was doing (PhD in neuroscience) he chimed in: 'But did you know that cabbies brains grow when they learn the map?!'
January 13, 2025
I wasn't part of Eleanor's lab when I was a postdoc at the FIl, but her warmth made it easy for me to look up to her. More recently, after I became a PI, I had the honor of working with her on a grant proposal. Her generosity and support made this collaborative process so enjoyable and rewarding (although we didn't get the grant in the end). RIP Eleanor. You will be missed and your ideas will inspire so many of us to carry on with our scientific work.
January 13, 2025
As my PhD supervisor, Eleanor played an incredibly important role in my life that has shaped my career ever since. She was a great scientist and bold visionary, never shying away from exploring the novel frontiers of memory research. But more than this, she was a great person who deeply cared for her team. I was lucky to launch start my academic career in her lab and I will miss her.
I have struggled to write a coherent narrative that captures how my genuine memories of Eleanor. The best I can do is provide some disconnected memories and impressions of Eleanor that have stayed with me for over a decade, reconstructed often, but never distorted.
A skeptical face pulled in research talks whenever Eleanor did not agree with what was being said. It was very easy to get a direct training signal from her during lab talks!
A great sense of humour, often on display with a somewhat wicked twinkle in her eye.
An occasional propensity to fierceness, particularly in defense of her team.
A great intellect, without any superficial intellectual pretensions.
I have struggled to write a coherent narrative that captures how my genuine memories of Eleanor. The best I can do is provide some disconnected memories and impressions of Eleanor that have stayed with me for over a decade, reconstructed often, but never distorted.
A skeptical face pulled in research talks whenever Eleanor did not agree with what was being said. It was very easy to get a direct training signal from her during lab talks!
A great sense of humour, often on display with a somewhat wicked twinkle in her eye.
An occasional propensity to fierceness, particularly in defense of her team.
A great intellect, without any superficial intellectual pretensions.
January 13, 2025
Eleanor, perhaps more than anyone I've worked with, always encouraged me to think bigger than I was. This started before I even joined the FIL, when she was on the interview panel for my postdoc with Gareth Barnes. I remember coming out of there not wondering whether I had got the job, but when could I go head-to-head again like that.
Sadly due to COVID, and the crossover between that and Eleanor's illness meant, most of my interactions afterwards that were over Teams and email. However even that remote world, the ecouragement to get the best out of us to enable FILbury to become a reality was still present all the way through. Her judge of character meant that I got to work alongside some of her incredible hires, friends I hope to keep for life.
Eleanor, thank you for making me so welcome in the FIL at what was such a strange and stressful time for everyone. I'm so sorry we couldn't wait for it to all blow over. Rest easy,
Sadly due to COVID, and the crossover between that and Eleanor's illness meant, most of my interactions afterwards that were over Teams and email. However even that remote world, the ecouragement to get the best out of us to enable FILbury to become a reality was still present all the way through. Her judge of character meant that I got to work alongside some of her incredible hires, friends I hope to keep for life.
Eleanor, thank you for making me so welcome in the FIL at what was such a strange and stressful time for everyone. I'm so sorry we couldn't wait for it to all blow over. Rest easy,
January 13, 2025
As so many others have already stated, Eleanor was truly one of a kind.
Although I was never part of Eleanor’s team, I was extremely fortunate to count Eleanor as a mentor and collaborator. United by our interest in memory disorders, Eleanor was nothing but generous with her time, her ideas, and her encouragement. Any time our paths overlapped at a conference, or if I passed through London, we would meet, have lunch (or a hot chocolate!) and chat about research, academia, and life more generally. I greatly admired her fierce intellect, her commitment to producing research of the highest quality, and her impossibly clever research paradigms. It also helped that she possessed a wicked sense of humour and never seemed to take herself too seriously.
We had been in touch only recently, as Eleanor had invited me to examine the PhD thesis of one of her students. True to form, the thesis was exceptional and conveyed the same rigour and elegance that was the signature of Eleanor’s career. She expressed her determination to keep going as long as she could and even made tentative plans for us to meet in London in February. Sadly, this was not to be.
My sincere condolences to Eleanor’s family and her many friends and colleagues around the world.
Suaimhneas síoraí dá hanam,
Muireann Irish.
Although I was never part of Eleanor’s team, I was extremely fortunate to count Eleanor as a mentor and collaborator. United by our interest in memory disorders, Eleanor was nothing but generous with her time, her ideas, and her encouragement. Any time our paths overlapped at a conference, or if I passed through London, we would meet, have lunch (or a hot chocolate!) and chat about research, academia, and life more generally. I greatly admired her fierce intellect, her commitment to producing research of the highest quality, and her impossibly clever research paradigms. It also helped that she possessed a wicked sense of humour and never seemed to take herself too seriously.
We had been in touch only recently, as Eleanor had invited me to examine the PhD thesis of one of her students. True to form, the thesis was exceptional and conveyed the same rigour and elegance that was the signature of Eleanor’s career. She expressed her determination to keep going as long as she could and even made tentative plans for us to meet in London in February. Sadly, this was not to be.
My sincere condolences to Eleanor’s family and her many friends and colleagues around the world.
Suaimhneas síoraí dá hanam,
Muireann Irish.
January 13, 2025
What a terrible loss. I got to know Eleanor during my postdoc years on Queen Square. We did not work together directly although I will always remember that one paper on which I was coauthor for the fastest review process I ever experienced... More importantly, I will remember her great insights in Brain Meetings and the creative studies in the FIL project presentations. And I also vaguely recall something with a magician at a Christmas party.
My deepest condolences to her loved ones.
My deepest condolences to her loved ones.
January 12, 2025
RIP Eleanor. Your study was a source of immense inspiration for me and for all neurologist and neuroscience community.
She will be missed.
Condolences to her family and loved ones
She will be missed.
Condolences to her family and loved ones
January 12, 2025
RIP Eleanor. I am a huge fan of your amazing body of work. Your contribution to neuroscience is utterly fascinating. Sending heartfelt condolences to your family.
January 12, 2025
I was very sad to learn that Professor Eleanor Maguire died at such a young age. She had so much more to contribute to science. Her work was a source of immense inspiration for me, especially during my PhD research on spatial memory in stroke, where her publications were both enlightening and transformative. Prof. Maguire’s brilliance, passion, and dedication to advancing knowledge will be profoundly missed. Rest in peace, Professor Maguire; your legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.
January 11, 2025
Thanks for all the support you've made to psychology investigations.
January 11, 2025
This is truly sad news. May Eleanor's soul rest in peace. She leaves behind an enduring legacy. Her groundbreaking study of London taxi drivers profoundly inspired my interest in neuroplasticity in the early 2000's. I pray her family, friends and colleagues draw comfort from her impact on memory and neuroscience.
January 11, 2025
Eleanor’s passing at such a relatively young age (54 yrs) was tragic, and sadly mirrors some of the other tragic losses we have had of leading memory researchers/MDRS members at such a young age (Alan Parkin, 49 yrs; Justine Sergent, 44 yrs; Nelson Butters, 58 yrs; Laird Cermak, 57 yrs). I was fortunate to have known Eleanor from the time she started her job in London in the 1990s, and to have published a joint paper with her. Her talents were outstanding, and she even produced a paper close to my heart (paradoxical functional facilitation in amnesia). She is probably the only memory researcher to have a PhD student who then went on to win a Nobel Prize (Dennis Hassabis), and she published at least seven joint papers with the Nobel Laureate, John O’Keefe. Eleanor has left behind an amazing legacy, both in terms of the many researchers she trained and also resources such as the invaluable open-access imaging/neuropsych database which she recently created. I was privileged to be able to visit her around half a dozen times when she was in hospital, and I admired the courage and grace that she showed during that period. It seems that she sadly died not of the original cancer, but perhaps of the side-effects of the treatment, and if so, I hope that lessons can be learned from her death. May she rest in peace. Narinder Kapur.
January 10, 2025
I offer my sincere condolences to her family, her loved ones and the scientific community. May she rest in peace,God bless .
January 10, 2025
Passing of Eleanor is an immense loss for the FIL and global neuroscience community. During my time at the FIL as an MRI physicist, I had the privilege of collaborating with Eleanor and her team on her groundbreaking 7T fMRI studies. Her brilliance, dedication, and inspiring intellect made working with her a truly enriching experience. May her soul rest in peace.
January 10, 2025
Thank you for being a beacon in our world. Your legacy lives on. Though it's painful to know you are gone to rest, we take solace in
the grace of God our strength 🙏
the grace of God our strength 🙏
January 10, 2025
Great to know about her inspirational work on Neuroplasticity.
Condolences to her family well wishers and colleagues.
Condolences to her family well wishers and colleagues.
January 10, 2025
Thank you for contributing so much to the neuroscience community. I have read and taught your research studies to my students.
January 10, 2025
Eleanor's passing is a tremendous loss. I first met her when I was a master's student, which eventually led me to pursue a PhD under her guidance. This experience was truly exceptional. Eleanor was a kind and generous mentor, and I feel fortunate to have worked with a scientist who held high standards for the quality of research conducted in her lab. Her clarity of thought and innovative approach were inspiring. She also had a wonderful sense of humour and loved hearing stories about my mishaps with taxi driver recruitment, often responding with a cheeky smile.
On a personal level, Eleanor was warm and compassionate. During my last visit, although she was very unwell, she showed genuine interest in my personal and professional life. Her strength and dedication to her work during this challenging time in her life are truly admirable.
She will be missed.
On a personal level, Eleanor was warm and compassionate. During my last visit, although she was very unwell, she showed genuine interest in my personal and professional life. Her strength and dedication to her work during this challenging time in her life are truly admirable.
She will be missed.
January 10, 2025
Je présente tout mes sincères condoléances a ça famille ces proches et la communauté scientifique. Quelle repose en paix nchallah
January 10, 2025
A true loss to the field. She was a giant and her work was definitional. Among the many contributions she made, her work on the role of hippocampal lesions and imagination were critical to how my own lab started to think about decision making and the mechanisms that underlie it. I will miss talking to her at conferences and visits to UCL. Those conversations were always important and insightful and I often left thinking about things differently.
January 10, 2025
I am truly saddened by Eleanor's passing, which came relatively suddenly such that I was unable to say a final goodbye. I consider myself very fortunate to have been Eleanor's PhD student - and her first one at that. She introduced me to the fascinating world of memory, and inspired me with her creativity and big picture thinking. I will always be grateful for her support in my wish to employ more laboratory style tests of memory even though this diverged so strongly with her firm belief in the importance of examining memory in a more real world context.
For such a small person, Eleanor had a mighty intellect, a towering reputation and a large amount of resilience - something that greatly helped me to survive my initial experience with scientific publishing: when our first paper together did the "journal cascade" being rejected from around 6 places before being finally accepted. I think without her optimistic attitude I would have been utterly dejected.
I will greatly miss Eleanor. My time at the FIL in her fledging lab with Demis, Hugo and others was the best academic and simply the most fun experience of my working life - we fondly remember it as the "golden era". I will miss our impromptu chats even after I left her lab, and even those when she was already very sick. I am happy though that her scientific legacy will live on, and her work will continue to shape the direction of memory research (and beyond) and inspire new generations of researchers. Goodbye Eleanor, we will never forget you.
Dharshan Kumaran
For such a small person, Eleanor had a mighty intellect, a towering reputation and a large amount of resilience - something that greatly helped me to survive my initial experience with scientific publishing: when our first paper together did the "journal cascade" being rejected from around 6 places before being finally accepted. I think without her optimistic attitude I would have been utterly dejected.
I will greatly miss Eleanor. My time at the FIL in her fledging lab with Demis, Hugo and others was the best academic and simply the most fun experience of my working life - we fondly remember it as the "golden era". I will miss our impromptu chats even after I left her lab, and even those when she was already very sick. I am happy though that her scientific legacy will live on, and her work will continue to shape the direction of memory research (and beyond) and inspire new generations of researchers. Goodbye Eleanor, we will never forget you.
Dharshan Kumaran
January 10, 2025
My condolences and acknowledgement that her research proved that London taxi drivers have more developed brain sections than average humans.
January 9, 2025
I was amazed to learn the work Eleanor contributed in the field of neuroscience. Such a remarkable and intelligent human being. May her soul rest in peace.
January 9, 2025
Tough times never last... Eleanor was a beauty to the neuroscience communityt.
January 9, 2025
I first got to know Eleanor in 2007, as a PhD student at the FIL starting out in cognitive neuroscience. From the very beginning, it was clear to me that Eleanor was a role model to follow closely, to learn from, and to seek to emulate. She had an unwavering commitment to her chosen field of memory research, and her drive, focus and scientific creativity enabled her to obtain wonderful insights into the nexus of brain and mind.
After I returned to the FIL as a new PI in 2015, I took up residence in an office next to hers. This was in equal parts intimidating and lovely, lending me the privilege of regular hallway catch-ups and the benefit of her occasional words of advice, warning or encouragement – words which carried considerable weight, and still ring in my ears today. More generally, Eleanor was a champion of early career researchers, always quick to congratulate or commiserate with people in those rollercoaster early stages of fellowship wins and losses.
Eleanor had the very highest standards for her science, and the care with which she treated both experimental design and neuroanatomy was an inspiration. She extended those high standards to the wider FIL – ensuring that a focus on rigor in experimental design was never lost, even when new technologies (which she embraced and often pioneered) came on the scene.
I was lucky to spend some time with her through her awful illness, which she faced with remarkable stoicism. True to form, she remained engaged and committed to her science and to the FIL until the very end. In our last conversation just before Christmas we had energetic debates about the relative balance of cognitive and systems neuroscience research for the future of the field. She welcomed new initiatives to bridge these silos – but also urged me not to lose sight of all that still needs to be done to understand how the human brain supports the richness of our mental lives. She was right of course – and by pursuing this kind of work, we will be honouring her memory.
I have often thought that a good strategy for a career in science is to seek the respect of those you respect, and the rest will take care of itself. For me, Eleanor was one of those scientists whose standards I have sought to emulate and to live up to. The memories of her advice and encouragement will no doubt sustain many of us long into the future.
I will miss her greatly.
After I returned to the FIL as a new PI in 2015, I took up residence in an office next to hers. This was in equal parts intimidating and lovely, lending me the privilege of regular hallway catch-ups and the benefit of her occasional words of advice, warning or encouragement – words which carried considerable weight, and still ring in my ears today. More generally, Eleanor was a champion of early career researchers, always quick to congratulate or commiserate with people in those rollercoaster early stages of fellowship wins and losses.
Eleanor had the very highest standards for her science, and the care with which she treated both experimental design and neuroanatomy was an inspiration. She extended those high standards to the wider FIL – ensuring that a focus on rigor in experimental design was never lost, even when new technologies (which she embraced and often pioneered) came on the scene.
I was lucky to spend some time with her through her awful illness, which she faced with remarkable stoicism. True to form, she remained engaged and committed to her science and to the FIL until the very end. In our last conversation just before Christmas we had energetic debates about the relative balance of cognitive and systems neuroscience research for the future of the field. She welcomed new initiatives to bridge these silos – but also urged me not to lose sight of all that still needs to be done to understand how the human brain supports the richness of our mental lives. She was right of course – and by pursuing this kind of work, we will be honouring her memory.
I have often thought that a good strategy for a career in science is to seek the respect of those you respect, and the rest will take care of itself. For me, Eleanor was one of those scientists whose standards I have sought to emulate and to live up to. The memories of her advice and encouragement will no doubt sustain many of us long into the future.
I will miss her greatly.
January 9, 2025
I am currently studying psychology at an A-Level and I would love to show appreciation to the research you have contributed to psychology and neuroscience you will surely be missed.
January 9, 2025
So sad to hear this news and my condolences to Eleanor’s family, friends, colleagues and students. I was lucky enough to know Eleanor in the late 1990s at the FIL. I remember her tremendous integrity, both personal and scientific, her wonderful humour and bone-dry wit, and her deep, instinctive, unshowy generosity.
Since those early days, I’ve followed Eleanor’s outstanding scientific career with huge admiration. Reading the tributes here, it’s also abundantly clear how many other amazing scientists she has mentored and inspired over the years, and I have no doubt her memory will live on through their work.
Since those early days, I’ve followed Eleanor’s outstanding scientific career with huge admiration. Reading the tributes here, it’s also abundantly clear how many other amazing scientists she has mentored and inspired over the years, and I have no doubt her memory will live on through their work.
January 9, 2025
Very sad to hear this news. Eleanor was not only a brilliant scientist, she was a much-admired teacher, tutor, mentor and supervisor. I remember how she generously contributed to the 'new' MSc in Clinical Neuroscience at QSIoN (we only had one MSc programme back in the day). She has inspired countless colleagues and students. This is a great loss.
January 9, 2025
I knew and admired Eleanor's work from my undergrad days. When I then got to work in the Centre where she was a PI, I was equally excited and intimidated. Over the last 10 years, I was privileged to get to know her better as a colleague and on a personal level. What always stood out to me was her passion for her work and to enable people at the FIL to thrive. Even if we disagreed about the direction occasionally, it was always clear that she only wanted what was best for the Centre. And her passion shaped the FIL and the lives of many of us, which gives me comfort in knowing that her lasting impact will not be forgotten. I will also always remember her (dry) humour. She was a great and witty conversation partner with whom it was easy to chat away for a long time over a drink at the FIL parties. Eleanor will be dearly missed at the FIL and she will leave behind a big gap in our community.
January 9, 2025
I feel very lucky to have known Eleanor. Eleanor was a giant scientifically, but she also struck me for a different reason. One of my students, Flavia De Luca, was about to go to her lab for a year as a visiting. Eleanor barely knew us, but I was impressed by how she took care of every single little aspect of the visit to ensure Flavia would get the most out of it. She was very generous and caring. Collaborating with her on some projects was pure joy; I smiled when I read her additions to our papers. I recently broke my legs. She was already ill, but she always continued to write me words of encouragement. Even then her words were so magical and effective that each time I felt like I could run again.
My condolences to the family on the loss of such a special person
My condolences to the family on the loss of such a special person
January 9, 2025
Rest in Peace Eleanor, may your memory be a blessing to your loved ones, you have impacted people’s lives and you will not be forgotten.
January 9, 2025
What an immensely sad act it is to write these words to commemorate Eleanor and reflect on what she meant to each of us. To her dear parents, friends and colleagues, I extend my deepest sympathy.
I first met Eleanor in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, she was writing her PhD and I was completing training in clinical psychology. Our mutual area of interest was epilepsy and we published a paper on self-esteem in children following surgery for epilepsy. I was impressed then by her dedication, eye for detail and care for patients. Her wry observations (scientific and social) were often delivered with a glint in the eye and accompanied by wonder or hilarity; sometimes both.
I was one of her ‘controls’ in her Blackrock study, a forerunner to the London Taxi Driver research. I recall being humbled by my appalling performance on location recall, but also more importantly I recalled the clever design of her study and the efforts she went made to achieve this.
If I have one small claim to fame, it is that when I worked in London, I informed Eleanor about the post at FIL and that I thought it would suit her perfectly. In true Eleanor style, she was thorough in her analysis of the details and prospects of the post, and after careful consideration, she made the best decision by far. From there, she blossomed and reached the greatest academic heights always maintaining her core values of excellence and integrity.
We kept in touch over the years; her Christmas card was always the first to arrive. I attended her presentation following admission to the RIA, she was glorious in her confidence as she described her ideas and work. I recall feeling enormous pride for her and her parents.
May you rest in peace Eleanor; you have contributed so much with great humility and care, we are greatly privileged and enriched to have known you.
I first met Eleanor in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, she was writing her PhD and I was completing training in clinical psychology. Our mutual area of interest was epilepsy and we published a paper on self-esteem in children following surgery for epilepsy. I was impressed then by her dedication, eye for detail and care for patients. Her wry observations (scientific and social) were often delivered with a glint in the eye and accompanied by wonder or hilarity; sometimes both.
I was one of her ‘controls’ in her Blackrock study, a forerunner to the London Taxi Driver research. I recall being humbled by my appalling performance on location recall, but also more importantly I recalled the clever design of her study and the efforts she went made to achieve this.
If I have one small claim to fame, it is that when I worked in London, I informed Eleanor about the post at FIL and that I thought it would suit her perfectly. In true Eleanor style, she was thorough in her analysis of the details and prospects of the post, and after careful consideration, she made the best decision by far. From there, she blossomed and reached the greatest academic heights always maintaining her core values of excellence and integrity.
We kept in touch over the years; her Christmas card was always the first to arrive. I attended her presentation following admission to the RIA, she was glorious in her confidence as she described her ideas and work. I recall feeling enormous pride for her and her parents.
May you rest in peace Eleanor; you have contributed so much with great humility and care, we are greatly privileged and enriched to have known you.
January 9, 2025
Thank you for your significant contribution, Eleanor! May you rest in peace 🤍
January 8, 2025
It still doesn't seem real or fair that Eleanor has been taken away from us far too soon, and still in her prime with so many plans unfinished. My time spent in Eleanor's lab alongside Dharsh, Hugo, Katya et al were some of the most formative, productive, and just plain fun years of my career. It's where I really learnt to do deep rigorous research, and how it differed from the engineering disciplines I was used to. On one recent visit to the hospital we were fondly reminiscing of those halcyon days at the FIL in its golden age, and the intense but good humoured debates we used to have at lab meetings - she was always super supportive of creative (and even downright outlandish!) ideas, as long as they were big ones! Eleanor will be greatly missed by all who knew her, but she will always be a towering figure in the field of hippocampus and memory research, and her legacy will live on through the pioneering work she did and the many people she inspired.
January 8, 2025
I had an aim of becoming an astrophysicist when I was young. The inevitability of BCIs brought me to the field of neurosciences and cognitive sciences.
But, in the very first month of my Master's, there was a time when I considered switching back to Physics, as neuroscience seemed to be in a very nascent stage. It was at that moment, that I discovered Prof. Maguire's work on London taxi drivers' hippocampus. The proof of adult neurogenesis, and the possibility of replicating it in other regions of the brain is something which motivated me, and gave me a hope that we can learn a lot about the brain, despite the humongous physical and technological limitations in observing our brains.
Your work played a crucial role in shaping my career trajectory. Thank you Professor! You will be missed.
But, in the very first month of my Master's, there was a time when I considered switching back to Physics, as neuroscience seemed to be in a very nascent stage. It was at that moment, that I discovered Prof. Maguire's work on London taxi drivers' hippocampus. The proof of adult neurogenesis, and the possibility of replicating it in other regions of the brain is something which motivated me, and gave me a hope that we can learn a lot about the brain, despite the humongous physical and technological limitations in observing our brains.
Your work played a crucial role in shaping my career trajectory. Thank you Professor! You will be missed.
January 8, 2025
To a psychologist whom I personally did not have the opportunity to meet but whose contributions I shared with countless students in order to unravel the understanding of human memory.
Very grateful for everything Ms. Maguire and I will always have you in my memory.
Very grateful for everything Ms. Maguire and I will always have you in my memory.
January 8, 2025
An inspiration and legend to so many. We are all richer for her contribution to research and our lives.
Thank you x
Thank you x
January 8, 2025
It was the spring of 2004 in a seminar room in Edinburgh as an undergraduate when Richard Morris had us read a PNAS paper from a couple of years earlier that he was always very excited about. Well, how inconsequential that seminar felt 20 years ago, but how it shaped almost the entirety of my adult life.
I won't add commentary to the scientific achievements, which stand for themselves, and I take those lessons with me into clinics and ward. That science has spoken to patients struggling to understand their own experiences.
What remains is her personality and nature. I asked her once why she supported Crystal Palace and she just replied that it sounded magical and regal growing up. That was reason enough and I respected her more for its innocence and honesty. But, as with many people and things, she stuck with them with singular focus.
And, I never did find out what was in those taxi bags you gave all the patients. I like that I never will - very Eleanor to leave us with a bit of mystery.
I won't add commentary to the scientific achievements, which stand for themselves, and I take those lessons with me into clinics and ward. That science has spoken to patients struggling to understand their own experiences.
What remains is her personality and nature. I asked her once why she supported Crystal Palace and she just replied that it sounded magical and regal growing up. That was reason enough and I respected her more for its innocence and honesty. But, as with many people and things, she stuck with them with singular focus.
And, I never did find out what was in those taxi bags you gave all the patients. I like that I never will - very Eleanor to leave us with a bit of mystery.
January 8, 2025
🙏🙏
January 8, 2025
Thank you for the knowledge. My students and I greatly appreciate what you left us.
January 8, 2025
I 'll never look at london taxi drivers the same way again thanks to you!One of the favourite studies of my psychology students!Thank you for all you did for Science and Psychology!
January 8, 2025
An impressive psychologist - I have shared her ground breaking study on plasticity for 20 years with my students and every time it still excites and inspires. Your legacy will live on
January 8, 2025
Thank you for the taxi driver studies, a summary of them is a motivating and interesting first ”story” in my textbook for swedish students.
January 8, 2025
What a terrible loss. So young, she had already achieved so much and yet I am sure had so much more to give. Eleanor was simply one of the best colleagues you could have had. She was such a help to me when I became Director: I could always turn to her when I needed a voice that was clear and well-informed, but also came with warmth and friendship. . Roger
January 8, 2025
Thank you for the scientific work.🖤
January 8, 2025
I am so saddened by the loss of Eleanor, she was a truly wonderful colleague, and a brilliant scientist, we will really miss her at the Institute of Neurology.
January 8, 2025
I'm so sorry to hear of the passing of Eleanor. Her scientific work was highly influential, not only in terms of the content of the work but also in the people that she trained. During my time as intern at the FIL, I've found her to be very thoughtful, helpful and kind as I'm sure she was to many others. She'll surely be missed. My heart goes out to her family and friends.
January 8, 2025
I am deeply saddened by Eleanor's passing.
We interacted many times in person and by email over the years, and I always learned something from her - every time.
She was kind, generous with her time and judgement, extremely funny, and never took herself too seriously.
She was a remarkable scientist, with great insight and creativity allied to a rigour of thought that was deeply impressive.
The death of someone so young and so vibrant with so much left to do is a terrible tragedy; the loss to her family, incalculable.
We interacted many times in person and by email over the years, and I always learned something from her - every time.
She was kind, generous with her time and judgement, extremely funny, and never took herself too seriously.
She was a remarkable scientist, with great insight and creativity allied to a rigour of thought that was deeply impressive.
The death of someone so young and so vibrant with so much left to do is a terrible tragedy; the loss to her family, incalculable.
January 8, 2025
My deepest condolences. May her memory & research legacy live on
January 8, 2025
Whilst her enormous empirical contributions and also positive influence on the academic community are being celebrated in many of these comments, another facet of her contribution has been to inspire many students to take their own first steps into psychology and neuroscience.
As an A-Level psychology teacher for many years I have taught a number of Eleanor’s studies to many groups of students who consistently find them elegant, ingenious and memorable. She will have been a factor in many students taking up psychological sciences in earnest, and will continue to be so for many many years to come.
My sincere condolences to her family and friends.
As an A-Level psychology teacher for many years I have taught a number of Eleanor’s studies to many groups of students who consistently find them elegant, ingenious and memorable. She will have been a factor in many students taking up psychological sciences in earnest, and will continue to be so for many many years to come.
My sincere condolences to her family and friends.
January 8, 2025
This is a devastating loss, and my heart goes out to all of her family, friends, and colleagues. Eleanor's work was so inspiring to so many of us. More importantly, she was always so lovely to chat with whenever I had the honor to speak with her. An incredible legacy-both personal and professional-that will certainly endure.
January 8, 2025
It was always a pleasure and a privilege to meet Eleanor. A great woman and a fine scientist - outrageous that she has gone so soon.
January 8, 2025
I have learned about her study all the way across Pacific Ocean decades ago.
Her research is like a beacon, constantly reminding us that as we proactively process and digest information of all sorts, we are not only changing and evolving cognitively but also neurologically. We do have certain level of capacity to actively shape our brain 🧠 by engaging with information in various forms!
It would be curious to find out if we are able to train our brain to be super plastic/adaptive like those we had when we were kids, and of course, a more advanced version with decades of experience and wisdom?
Sending all the prayers and love for her 💜
Her research is like a beacon, constantly reminding us that as we proactively process and digest information of all sorts, we are not only changing and evolving cognitively but also neurologically. We do have certain level of capacity to actively shape our brain 🧠 by engaging with information in various forms!
It would be curious to find out if we are able to train our brain to be super plastic/adaptive like those we had when we were kids, and of course, a more advanced version with decades of experience and wisdom?
Sending all the prayers and love for her 💜
January 8, 2025
Very very sad to hear this. When I found out that Eleanor was poorly, I dropped her an email to let her know how influential her work had been to my career and how it is a role model for creativity, rigor, and impact. When I was a graduate student, Eleanor was always gracious and polite – I felt like she was a big sister, always looking out for me. As for her work, it goes without saying that she published two of the most influential lines of work in the field of cognitive neuroscience. Her work on taxi drivers was a touch of creative genius, while her work with Demis on prospection created a new field. Other contributions included the first VR fMRI study (Science 1998), social networks in the hippocampus (with Dharsh, JN 2005), and the first to have a real go at understanding the retrosplenial cortex (NRN 2009). I could go on! Also, seeing Demis win the Nobel Prize would have made her very proud. Eleanor - thanks for being a great scientist, a great teacher, and a great human being.
January 8, 2025
So sad to hear of Eleanor passing... She left an enormous legacy for the neuroscience of memory and even though I haven't been working in science for a while I still vividly remember her papers, talks, and the interactions we had. My former memory colleagues know that such vivid episodic memories are often a result of events that are paired with (in this case very positive) emotions!
My sincere condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues on this huge loss.
My sincere condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues on this huge loss.
January 8, 2025
Eleanor will be sorely missed but her contribution and her memory will live on. RIP 💙
January 8, 2025
Unfortunately I never met Eleanor in person, yet her groundbreaking work has enabled a pivotal change in my life and work.
It helped me to create my company Be More You where we offer 1:1 programs in which our clients use neuroplasticity in a very focussed manner. Enabling them to accelerate their personal development.
I'd like to thank Eleanor, also on behalf of our client, from the bottom of my heart for her contribution to a better world.
Hopefully all these message will some help for her loved ones to deal with the loss of Eleanor.
It helped me to create my company Be More You where we offer 1:1 programs in which our clients use neuroplasticity in a very focussed manner. Enabling them to accelerate their personal development.
I'd like to thank Eleanor, also on behalf of our client, from the bottom of my heart for her contribution to a better world.
Hopefully all these message will some help for her loved ones to deal with the loss of Eleanor.
January 8, 2025
Eleanor was an exceptional scientist and person, insightful and warm, wry, funny and kind. She made an impact and a difference, for good. Such a huge loss in so many ways.
January 7, 2025
I got to know Eleanor, when I was doing my PhD next door at Alexandra House. Until she eventually became my internal thesis examiner, we never directly interacted. Yet, Eleanor is one of the five or so colleagues, who had the most profound impact on my work. In general, I was always deeply impressed by her ability to conduct MRI experiments on complex memory functions with such a seemingly unparalleled ecological validity. In particular her work on imagination and scene construction helped set me on a path that I walk on up to this day. Oh, and when we finally met up for my viva (together with John Duncan as external examiner), these were some scary, thrilling, enlightening, and happy four hours. I will miss learning about Eleanor’s latest insights and discoveries and will inadvertently keep wondering what she may be up to next. Thank you, Eleanor!
January 7, 2025
Dear Eleanor,
With your passing, a most luminous star has left our scientific family. Your inspirational research and your trailblazing discoveries enriched the work of so many of your colleagues, including my own. Yours will be a long-lasting legacy that will inspire both current and future generations of neuroscientists, But I will sorely miss your friendship, your kindness, and your generous spirit. Rest in peace.
My profound condolences to your family and friends.
With your passing, a most luminous star has left our scientific family. Your inspirational research and your trailblazing discoveries enriched the work of so many of your colleagues, including my own. Yours will be a long-lasting legacy that will inspire both current and future generations of neuroscientists, But I will sorely miss your friendship, your kindness, and your generous spirit. Rest in peace.
My profound condolences to your family and friends.



January 7, 2025
I joined FIL as a receptionist and worked there for 10 yrs. On my first day Eleanor came to the desk and welcomed me personally. She continued to always acknowledge and greet me whenever she was in the office. She would take interest in my family.
An accomplished scientist of course, but an equally kind person.
RIP Eleanor.
An accomplished scientist of course, but an equally kind person.
RIP Eleanor.
January 7, 2025
She was a great scientist, mentor, and caring and fun person. She was so generous at giving her time to discuss science as well as personal wellbeing of her trainees. She was very meticulous and organised, and had a very high standard of science. During one of my first email exchange as her PhD student, she pointed out incongruency in my email (e.g. 4th January, Sunday instead of Saturday) and advised me to be more careful when I schedule experiments in the future. I was embarrassed and terrified at that moment, but her comment saved me from numerous future embarrassment and troubles. From her tireless advice, I learnt how to run the experiment in the most systematic and reproducible way, starting right from the recruitment to debriefing of participants' experience and thanking them. We often had to wrestle on how to analyse and interpret the data during our regular meetings, and sometimes she had to say "oh, come on. Humour me (and do this analysis)" Oh, she was such a humorous witty person. I just can't thank enough of her mentoring that continued many years past the end of my PhD. She took care of and nourished her old PhD student till the very last day of her life. I miss you so much. I hope I can make you proud of.
January 7, 2025
I remember one day at the FIL when Eleanor popped by my desk and asked me to come down to her office. If I was a bit concerned on the way, I was quickly relieved when I saw there the beginnings of an Ikea storage unit. Others have spoken of Eleanor’s immense academic achievement, but furniture assembly was not in her wheelhouse. Instead she asked me, in my capacity as postdoc, if I would help. In lieu of a hammer, Eleanor suggested I select a thesis from the cupboard (sorry to Eleanor’s many PhD students) and I whacked in dowels while we chatted, mostly about our families and her nephews especially.
I had the great privilege of working for Eleanor up until autumn last year. It is encouraging to read memorials below from others who had the honour before me and who were impressed with much the same wisdom. I note that none have mentioned the red pen, which in regular meetings ensured nothing slipped and progress was always being made. Eleanor amplified any collaborative work and was uniquely able to ‘zhuzh up’ writing and cut to the new and interesting in elevator pitch style. The greatest (and rarest) compliment was, “minor edits attached”.
To Eleanor’s enormous credit she did everything she could to reduce the impact of her illness on her lab and to maintain a sense of normality. Of course, there was nothing normal about it, but she knew we needed her support and we got it right until the end–however early that turned out to be. The strength required cannot be overstated and Eleanor, amongst all else, I am so grateful to you for that.
To Eleanor’s family, I hope you can see what an immensely positive impact Eleanor has had on those around her. I am so sorry for your loss.
I had the great privilege of working for Eleanor up until autumn last year. It is encouraging to read memorials below from others who had the honour before me and who were impressed with much the same wisdom. I note that none have mentioned the red pen, which in regular meetings ensured nothing slipped and progress was always being made. Eleanor amplified any collaborative work and was uniquely able to ‘zhuzh up’ writing and cut to the new and interesting in elevator pitch style. The greatest (and rarest) compliment was, “minor edits attached”.
To Eleanor’s enormous credit she did everything she could to reduce the impact of her illness on her lab and to maintain a sense of normality. Of course, there was nothing normal about it, but she knew we needed her support and we got it right until the end–however early that turned out to be. The strength required cannot be overstated and Eleanor, amongst all else, I am so grateful to you for that.
To Eleanor’s family, I hope you can see what an immensely positive impact Eleanor has had on those around her. I am so sorry for your loss.
January 7, 2025
In 2023, I inadvertently learned about the battle Eleanor Maguire was going through. I sent a seemingly innocuous invitation to review a paper in her corner of scientific expertise. She excused herself as she was to undergo surgery yet kindly provided me with suggestions for alternative reviewers! The request was such a trivial aspect of professional life while she faced a life-threatening illness. Although we never met, I wished her all the strength needed and heightened spirits to go through the challenging times.
I missed her twice. I had the hope I would still get to meet her soon. I am so very sorry I won't have that chance. Her work and ideas will remain inspiring.
RIP
I missed her twice. I had the hope I would still get to meet her soon. I am so very sorry I won't have that chance. Her work and ideas will remain inspiring.
RIP
January 7, 2025
I met Eleanor in the early 2000's at a CNS conference. I was showing her some functional neuroimaging data from a study on autobiographical memory, and someone walking by made a comment about activation outside of the brain. Eleanor shot back a sly reply with a grin, and later told me it was Richard Frackowiak (it may have been Karl Friston; my memory is hazy). Clearly, she gave as good as she got.
As we worked in parallel over the years, we corresponded regularly, sharing papers, methods, and data--and arguing a lot. Her acuity and good humour that I saw in that first meeting were ever-present. She often talked about the lives and careers of her trainees, to whom she was devoted like family.
Eleanor's scientific contributions in and of themselves are undeniable. What is less evident was her impact on others' work outside of her lab. It is not unusual for us to ask what Eleanor might think of something while writing--to the benefit of the final product.
Eleanor (with Ian Clark) recently shared an extremely useful imaging and behavioural dataset to the scientific community, which occasioned my most recent interactions with her, where she was forthright about her diagnosis, saying that there was more she wanted to do. I told her that she made a real difference in the world. I hope she understood that.
As we worked in parallel over the years, we corresponded regularly, sharing papers, methods, and data--and arguing a lot. Her acuity and good humour that I saw in that first meeting were ever-present. She often talked about the lives and careers of her trainees, to whom she was devoted like family.
Eleanor's scientific contributions in and of themselves are undeniable. What is less evident was her impact on others' work outside of her lab. It is not unusual for us to ask what Eleanor might think of something while writing--to the benefit of the final product.
Eleanor (with Ian Clark) recently shared an extremely useful imaging and behavioural dataset to the scientific community, which occasioned my most recent interactions with her, where she was forthright about her diagnosis, saying that there was more she wanted to do. I told her that she made a real difference in the world. I hope she understood that.