Rutgers Institute Celebrates 10 Years of Advancing Neuroscience and Brain Health Research

Members of the Brain Health Institute mark a decade of innovation with an awards ceremony honoring faculty

Members of the Rutgers Brain Health Institute (BHI), which brings together one of the world’s highest concentrations of neuroscience labs, celebrated 10 years of advancing brain health through research with an awards ceremony.

The institute includes more than 300 faculty and 900 trainees from 33 departments and 14 schools throughout Rutgers University. 

Over the past 10 years, BHI has established five Centers of Excellence and initiated two new centers focused on pain and neurotechnology.

Researchers at these centers study complex brain disorders:

• The Center for Autism Research, Education and Services focuses on neurodevelopment and autism research, partnering with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Children’s Specialized Hospital to also offer clinical services to autistic children with severe behavioral problems
• The Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center advances research on Alzheimer’s disease and related neurodegenerative disorders
• The Addiction Research Center addresses addiction and substance use disorders
• The Center for Advanced Human Brain Imaging Research uses advanced imaging to develop new insights in cognitive and sensory neuroscience
• The Rutgers-Princeton Center for Computational Cognitive Neuropsychiatry bridges computational science with clinical applications in neuropsychiatry.

Since its inception, BHI has expanded neuroscience funding at Rutgers. Institute leaders have recruited more than 40 faculty throughout Rutgers.

Funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for Rutgers neuroscientists has more than doubled since 2015, with BHI-recruited faculty securing more than $80 million in extramural funding through 2024. Notably, Rutgers and Princeton faculty recently received a $16 million Silvio O. Conte Center P50 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health in August.

“In its first decade, the Brain Health Institute has not only strengthened Rutgers Health but also brought real benefits to the people of New Jersey and beyond,” said Rutgers Health Chancellor Brian Strom during the  10th Annual BHI Symposium in mid-November.

Celebrating Faculty Excellence

BHI marked its 10th anniversary with the 2024 Research & Service Awards ceremony held on Dec. 10 at the Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick. The ceremony celebrated BHI faculty for their outstanding research and service contributions. Award recipients included:

• Early Career Faculty “Rising Star” Research Excellence Award: Anna Konova, assistant professor of psychiatry at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) and co-director of the Rutgers-Princeton Center for Computational Cognitive Neuro-Psychiatry.
• Mid-Career Faculty “Shining Star” Research Excellence Award: Victoria Abraira, assistant professor of cell biology and neuroscience in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers–New Brunswick.
• Senior Faculty “Super Star” Research Excellence Awards: Dipak Sarkar and Laszlo Zaborszky, Distinguished Professors from the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers–New Brunswick and the School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers–Newark, respectively.
• BHI “Outstanding Service” Award: Chiara Manzini, associate professor of neuroscience and cell biology in RWJMS.

“These awards and our 10th anniversary highlight the transformative impact of BHI’s faculty and programs,” said Gary Aston-Jones, director of BHI and the Murray and Charlotte Strongwater Endowed Chair in Neuroscience and Brain Health. “Our faculty’s research continues to address critical challenges in brain health, and our interdisciplinary approach fosters collaboration across Rutgers and beyond.”