It is a privilege to welcome Dr. Harold H. Zakon to give the 2018 Walter F. Heiligenberg Lecture. Dr. Zakon has made key contributions to our understanding of the function, regulation, and evolution of voltage-dependent ion channels using electric fish as a model organism. In particular, through a combination of investigation at the biophysical, behavioral, and molecular levels his research has provided pioneering insights into the convergent evolution and the hormonal regulation of sodium and potassium channels critical for adaptive behavior. Such studies in the nervous systems of electric fish have the power to uncover the fundamental principles and mechanisms common to all nervous systems. Dr. Zakon has been a director and faculty member of the “Neural Systems and Behavior” course at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole and the recipient of the NIH Research Career Development Award and a Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. He is an engaging speaker, and we hope that you can join us for this special event.