School Notes: School of Medicine
May/June 2011

Kavli neuroscience institute to broaden its scope

Under the direction of Pasko Rakic, scientists at the Kavli Institute for Neuroscience at Yale have conducted influential research on the molecular, cellular, and functional organization of the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for higher brain functions such as language and reasoning. Now, building upon its 2003 grant that established the Kavli Institute, the Kavli Foundation will contribute additional endowment funds to diversify and strengthen the institute's interdisciplinary brain research. This new commitment will enable the Kavli Institute to embrace Yale research on the nervous system more broadly, drawing on the expertise of the nearly 100 neuroscientists working in 20 departments across the Yale campus. The disciplines expected to contribute to the Kavli Institute’s research range from genetics to psychology, and the institute will also foster the development of novel concepts and technologies to investigate the functional properties of the living brain. The new funds will also provide support to top Yale graduate students in neuroscience, who will be designated as Kavli Scholars.

Advocate for the mentally ill supports Yale scientists

In January, the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD), the leading charity on psychiatric illness, honored ten School of Medicine scientists with NARSAD Young Investigator awards. The awards—which provide up to $60,000 over two years to "the most promising young scientists conducting neurobiological research" relevant to understanding mental illnesses, went to Jessica A. Cardin, assistant professor of neurobiology; Silva Corbera, postdoctoral associate in psychiatry; Douglas J. Guarnieri, associate research scientist in psychiatry; Jason K. Johannesen, assistant professor of psychiatry; Roger J. Jou, clinical fellow in the Child Study Center; Janghoo Lim, assistant professor of genetics; Ruth Sharf, postdoctoral associate in psychiatry; Megan V. Smith '00MPH, assistant professor of psychiatry; Bao-Zhu Yang, assistant professor of psychiatry; and Lingjun Zuo, associate research scientist in psychiatry.

Faculty named AAAS fellows

Three School of Medicine faculty members have been elected Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing science around the world. The three new Yale fellows are: Jorge E. Galán, the Lucille P. Markey Professor and chair of the Section of Microbial Pathogenesis; Haifan Lin, director of the Yale Stem Cell Center and professor of cell biology; and Hongyu Zhao, professor of public health (biostatistics), genetics, and statistics. Galán is renowned for his work on the mechanisms of pathogenesis of the intestinal pathogensSalmonella enterica and Campylobacter jejuni; Lin is a world leader in understanding the role that bits of genetic material called small RNAs play in stem cell differentiation and self-renewal; and Zhao develops statistic, computational, and visualization tools for molecular biology and genetics.