Charles Watson is a neuroscientist and public health physician. His qualifications included a medical degree (MBBS) and two research doctorates (MD and DSc). He is Professor Emeritus at Curtin University, and holds adjunct professorial research positions at the University of New South Wales, the University of Queensland, and the University of Western Australia.
He has published over 100 refereed journal articles and 40 book chapters, and has co-authored over 25 books on brain and spinal cord anatomy. The Paxinos Watson rat brain atlas has been cited over 80,000 times. His current research is focused on the comparative anatomy of the hippocampus and the claustrum.
He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science by the University of Sydney in 2012 and received the Distinguished Achievement Award of the Australasian Society for Neuroscience in 2018.