MIT is establishing an Advisory Council on Neuroscience to oversee and coordinate faculty hiring and recruitment in the Institute's growing neuroscience programs and to help articulate a coherent program for MIT's work in the field, Provost L. Rafael Reif announced today.
"Neuroscience at MIT has made important advances in a relatively short period of time, attracting outstanding faculty and students and generating impressive discoveries. The new council will further strengthen our ability to play a leadership role in an intellectually exciting field with tremendous implications for human health and well-being," said Reif.
The decision to form the council reflects recommendations made by the Ad Hoc Committee to Review the Structure of the MIT Neuroscience Program, which was appointed in July to review the relationships among a number of MIT units engaged in teaching and research in neuroscience and to address questions that had been raised about the recruitment of a young neuroscientist to the MIT faculty.
The council will be chaired by Associate Provost Lorna Gibson. The members of the ad hoc committee were Professors Mildred Dresselhaus, Jacqueline N. Hewitt (chair), Marc A. Kastner and Michael F. Rubner. Dr. Torsten Wiesel, president emeritus of The Rockefeller University, served as an adviser to the group. The committee's report, along with letters from the provost and the president, is available at web.mit.edu/provost/reports.html.
