The Department of
Neurobiology
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, development ...
at
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
is located in the
Longwood Medical Area
The Longwood Medical and Academic Area (also known as Longwood Medical Area, LMA, or simply Longwood) is a medical campus in Boston, Massachusetts. Flanking Longwood Avenue, LMA is adjacent to the Fenway–Kenmore, Audubon Circle, and Mission H ...
of
Boston, MA
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
. It is consistently ranked as one of the top programs in Neurobiology and behavior in the world. The Department is part of the Basic Research Program at
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
, with research pertaining to development of the nervous system, sensory neuroscience, neurophysiology, and behavior. The Department was founded by
Stephen W. Kuffler
Stephen William Kuffler (August 24 Táp, Austria-Hungary, 1913 – October 11, 1980) was a pre-eminent Hungarian- American neurophysiologist. He is often referred to as the "Father of Modern Neuroscience". Kuffler, alongside noted Nobel L ...
in 1966, the first department dedicated to Neurobiology in the world. The mission of the Department is ''“to understand the workings of the brain through basic research and to use that knowledge to work toward preventive and therapeutic methods that alleviate neurological diseases”.''
History
Prior to moving to Boston, while at Johns Hopkins University, Kuffler recruited
Torsten N. Wiesel,
David Hubel
David Hunter Hubel (February 27, 1926 – September 22, 2013) was a Canadian American neurophysiologist noted for his studies of the structure and function of the visual cortex. He was co-recipient with Torsten Wiesel of the 1981 Nobel Priz ...
, David Potter, and Edwin Furshpan to work on various aspects of nerve physiology. As Hubel later recounted, Wiesel, Hubel, and Kuffler "...represented central nervous system physiology; Furshpan and Potter (and of course Steve) represented synaptic physiology; and
Ed Kravitz, representing neurochemistry, arrived soon after our move to Harvard."
The group moved to Harvard Medical School in 1959 as a sub-department within the Department of Pharmacology, headed by
Otto Krayer
Otto Hermann Krayer (22 October 1899 in Teningen#Köndringen, Köndringen, Großherzogtum Baden, Baden – 18 March 1982 in Tucson, Arizona) was a German-American physician, pharmacologist and university professor.
He was the only German scientist ...
. In 1966, Kuffler came up with the term neurobiology to unite these sub-disciplines into the first-ever Department of Neurobiology, an independent department at Harvard Medical School. Hubel later said, “I can’t be absolutely certain how the term ''neurobiology'' originated, but I believe Steve Kuffler invented it when we had to think up a title for our department when it was founded on 1965. That he almost single-handedly invented the field of neurobiology, I think few would dispute.”
Early on, the founders of the Department worked to recruit students and researchers to work in their laboratories, and paid special attention to recruiting with a social conscience. According to David Potter, "There’s another fact of the department that interests me personally,
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
has to do with our involvement in acceptance of medical students who were minorities… it was something new, and it was a political struggle and that made it very interesting. I spent a lot of time there, time that I should have been spending in the lab doing science and research, on admissions and recruiting, and I got kind of devoted to that. I don’t regret that at all, it was an education for me."
Wiesel chaired the department from 1973, and was succeeded by David Potter in 1982,
Gerald Fishbach in 1990, and
Carla Shatz
Carla J. Shatz (born 1947) is an American neurobiologist and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Medicine.
She was th ...
in 2000 (the first female to chair such a department). In 2008,
Michael E. Greenberg
Michael Greenberg (born May 25, 1954 in Miami Beach, Florida) is an American neuroscientist who specializes in molecular neurobiology. He served as the Chair of the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School from 2008 to 2022.
Biogr ...
assumed the position of Department chair, a position he currently holds. Under his leadership, he has integrated Harvard Neurobiology with neuroscience in the Harvard-affiliated hospitals, such as
Boston Children’s Hospital,
Dana-Farber Cancer Center,
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...
, and the
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Massachusetts Eye and Ear (Mass. Eye and Ear, or MEE) is a specialty hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, which focuses on ophthalmology (eye), otolaryngology (ear/nose/throat), and related medicine and research. Founded in 1 ...
. To further facilitate the interaction and collaboration of neuroscientists at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in
Cambridge, MA
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...
and Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Brain Initiative, co-chaired by Michael Greenberg and Joshua Sanes, funds collaborations and research initiatives specifically between members of the Department faculty and other neuroscientists at Harvard University.
In October 2016, current and past faculty, students, and researchers will gather in Boston to celebrate th
50th Anniversaryof the founding of the Department.
Notable Contributions to Neurobiology
* Receptive fields in visual cortex: Pioneering work on the selective responses of
retinal ganglion cell
A retinal ganglion cell (RGC) is a type of neuron located near the inner surface (the ganglion cell layer) of the retina of the human eye, eye. It receives visual information from photoreceptor cell, photoreceptors via two intermediate neuron typ ...
s by Kuffler
* Discovery of
critical period
In developmental psychology and developmental biology, a critical period is a maturational stage in the lifespan of an organism during which the nervous system is especially sensitive to certain environmental stimuli. If, for some reason, the org ...
s,
ocular dominance column Ocular dominance columns are stripes of neurons in the visual cortex of certain mammals (including humans) that respond preferentially to input from one eye or the other. The columns span multiple cortical layers, and are laid out in a striped patt ...
s, and
orientation selectivity Orientation selectivity is expressed by cells within the visual cortex, when such cells increase impulse or signal activity for specific oriented degree of shape presented within the visual field. Orientation selectivity can also be expressed by sim ...
: Hubel and Wiesel discovered that experience can shape the brain’s circuitry, but only during early life, a period of time they call the ‘critical period’. This work in the visual cortex earned the duo the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...
in 1981.
* Development of electrodes: Hubel developed an electrode for recording of single neurons in awake cats.
* Kravitz, Potter, and colleagues define
GABA as an inhibitory neurotransmitter
* Activity-dependent transcription in neurons during development of neural circuits, and in neurodevelopmental disorders
*
Central sensitization
Nociplastic pain or central sensitisation is a type of pain which is mechanically different from the normal nociceptive pain caused by inflammation and tissue damage or the neuropathic pain which results from nerve damage. It may occur in combin ...
in pain
* Processing of sub-modalities of vision in primates
* Cortical area specifically dedicated to face recognition
* Fundamental principles of olfactory processing
* Characterization and modulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and discovery of rapsyn
* Molecular and biophysical analysis of auditory
hair cell
Hair cells are the sensory receptors of both the auditory system and the vestibular system in the ears of all vertebrates, and in the lateral line organ of fishes. Through mechanotransduction, hair cells detect movement in their environment. ...
s
* Novel GABAergic pathway from basal ganglia to cortex
* Discovery of
enhancer RNA
Enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) represent a class of relatively long non-coding RNA molecules (50-2000 nucleotides) transcribed from the DNA sequence of enhancer regions. They were first detected in 2010 through the use of genome-wide techniques such as RNA ...
, RNA transcribed at enhancer sites in the genome
* The molecular impact of the
ketogenic diet
The ketogenic diet is a high- fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate dietary therapy that in conventional medicine is used mainly to treat hard-to-control (refractory) epilepsy in children. The diet forces the body to burn fats rather than ca ...
in epilepsy
*
Blood brain barrier
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the Cell (biology), cells, and transports Metabolic waste, metabolic waste products away from th ...
development and regulation
* Real-time 3D imaging of mouse behavior to phenotype and analyze mouse behavior
* Timing of neurotransmitter release from synapse and asynchronous release from synapses
* Role of
CRY1
Cryptochromes (from the Greek κρυπτός χρώμα, "hidden colour") are a class of flavoproteins found in plants and animals that are sensitive to blue light. They are involved in the circadian rhythms and the sensing of magnetic fields i ...
and
CRY2
Cryptochromes (from the Greek κρυπτός χρώμα, "hidden colour") are a class of flavoproteins found in plants and animals that are sensitive to blue light. They are involved in the circadian rhythms and the sensing of magnetic fields i ...
in mammalian circadian clock
* New treatment target for
glioblastoma
Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality ch ...
* Pain receptor specific local
anesthesia
Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), ...
Current Research and Academic Staff
The Department currently has 3
faculty membersand close to 300 graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and other research staff.
The Department’s current research generally encompasses the followin
areas
* Development and plasticity of the brain
* Characterization of
GABA and other amine neurotransmitters
* Sensory neuroscience and processing in ''
Drosophila melanogaster
''Drosophila melanogaster'' is a species of fly (the taxonomic order Diptera) in the family Drosophilidae. The species is often referred to as the fruit fly or lesser fruit fly, or less commonly the "vinegar fly" or "pomace fly". Starting with Ch ...
'', mice, and nonhuman primates
* Ion channel physiology
* Neurobiology of Behavior
* Neurodevelopmental disorders, such as
Rett Syndrome
Rett syndrome (RTT) is a genetic disorder that typically becomes apparent after 6–18 months of age and almost exclusively in females. Symptoms include impairments in language and coordination, and repetitive movements. Those affected often h ...
and
Autism Spectrum Disorders
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental disorder, neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) ...
* Neuropsychiatric disorders
* Development of technologies to activate and monitor neuronal activity
* Regulation of sleep and circadian rhythms
The Department's faculty also participates in the Program in Neuroscience PhD Program offered by Harvard University.
Select Awards and Honors for Past and Current Faculty Members
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...
:
* 1981: Torsten N. Wiesel and David Hubel "''for their discoveries concerning information processing in the visual system''"
* 2003:
Roderick MacKinnon
Roderick MacKinnon (born February 19, 1956) is an American biophysicist, neuroscientist, and businessman. He is a professor of Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics at Rockefeller University who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with Peter ...
(faculty member 1992–96) ''"for structural and mechanistic studies of ion channels"''
* 2004:
Linda Buck
Linda Brown Buck (born January 29, 1947) is an American biologist best known for her work on the olfactory system. She was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with Richard Axel, for their work on olfactory receptors. She ...
(faculty member 1991–2001) ''"for...discoveries of odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system"''
Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
The Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research is one of the prizes awarded by the Lasker Foundation for a fundamental discovery that opens up a new area of biomedical science. The award frequently precedes a Nobel Prize in Medicine; almost 5 ...
:
* 1999:
Roderick MacKinnon
Roderick MacKinnon (born February 19, 1956) is an American biophysicist, neuroscientist, and businessman. He is a professor of Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics at Rockefeller University who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with Peter ...
(faculty member 1992–96)
NIH Director's Pioneer Awards:
* 2006:
Rosalind A. Segal (current faculty member)
* 2012: Gary Yellen (current faculty member)
* 2014: Chenghua Gu (current faculty member)
NIH Director's New Innovator Awards:
* 2010: S. Robert Datta (current faculty member)
* 2016:
Dragana Rogulja (current faculty member)
Gruber Prize in Neuroscience
The Gruber Prize in Neuroscience, established in 2004, is one of three international awards worth US$500,000 made by the Gruber Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
The Gruber Prize in Neurosc ...
:
* 2014:
Thomas Jessell
Thomas Michael Jessell (2 August 1951 – 28 April 2019) was the Claire Tow Professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Columbia University in New York and a prominent developmental neuroscientist. In 2018, Columbia University announce ...
(faculty member 1981–84)
* 2015:
Michael E. Greenberg
Michael Greenberg (born May 25, 1954 in Miami Beach, Florida) is an American neuroscientist who specializes in molecular neurobiology. He served as the Chair of the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School from 2008 to 2022.
Biogr ...
(current chair and faculty member) and
Carla Shatz
Carla J. Shatz (born 1947) is an American neurobiologist and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Medicine.
She was th ...
(chair and faculty member, 2000–07)
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
* 1976:
Edward Kravitz
Edward Arthur Kravitz (born December 19, 1932) is the George Packer Berry Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. He is widely recognized for demonstrating that gamma-aminobutyric acid ( GABA) functions as a neurotransmitter. In add ...
* 2014:
Bernardo L. Sabatini
Bernardo L. Sabatini is an American neuroscientist who is the Alice and Rodman W. Moorhead III Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School.
Education and academic career
Sabatini received his S.B. in biomedical engineering from Harvard C ...
* 2015:
Margaret Livingstone
Margaret Stratford Livingstone is the Takeda Professor of Neurobiology in the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School in the field of visual perception. She authored the book ''Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing''. She was elect ...
References
External links
Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School50th Anniversary of the Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Brain InitiativeHarvard Medical School
{{Authority control
Neuroscience research centers in the United States
Harvard Medical School
Medical research institutes in Massachusetts