Emilio Bizzi (born February 22, 1933) is a

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, neural circuits, and glial ...

and

Institute Professor An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. He is an investigator of the

McGovern Institute for Brain Research The McGovern Institute for Brain Research is a research institute within MIT. Its mission is to understand how the brain works and to discover new ways to prevent or treat brain disorders. The institute was founded in 2000 by Patrick McGover ...

and a faculty member in the

Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences The Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, engages in fundamental research in the areas of brain and neural systems, and cognitive processes. The department ...

. He received his MD from the University of Rome in 1958 and his PhD from the

University of Pisa The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. History The Origins The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...

in 1968. In Pisa, he performed seminal measurements of brain waves during sleep. Bizzi joined MIT as a Research Associate in 1966, was appointed Associate Professor in 1969, and

tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

d in 1972. He was Director of the Whitaker College of Health Sciences, Technology, and Management between 1983 and 1987 and head of the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences from 1986 to 1997. In 2006, he was elected as President of the

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, a ...

. His research focuses on how the

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all p ...

translates brain messages signaling motor intent into muscle activation. He also studies how motor control is affected by stroke damage and how computational analysis of motor control can be harnessed to improve rehabilitation methods for stroke patients.

References

External links

MIT News Office
– Institute Professor press release
Bizzi Lab websiteMIT McGovern Institute website
Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science faculty Italian emigrants to the United States University of Pisa alumni Living people Sapienza University of Rome alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 1933 births Members of the National Academy of Medicine {{US-med-bio-stub