Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, Assumes Role as President of the Society for Neuroscience During 2016 Annual Meeting
Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, Dean for Academic and Scientific Affairs, Director of the Friedman Brain Institute (FBI) and Nash Family Professor of Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, began his term as President of the Society for Neuroscience (SFN) at the 2016 annual meeting last evening. Founded in 1969, The Society for Neuroscience is the world’s largest organization of brain and nervous system scientists and physicians, with nearly 40,000 members from more than 90 countries.
During his one-year term as president between 2016 and 2017, Dr. Nestler will guide the venerable society to support the neurosciences in a myriad of ways. Some of the themes he plans to address during his tenure include promoting a diverse workplace in the neuroscience field, working with academic institutions and government agencies to reduce the administrative burden on the neuroscience research enterprise, and promoting optimal translation of basic discoveries into clinical advances, while recognizing the crucial importance of a strong investment in basic research.
Dr. Nestler was named president-elect in July 2015. The long delay between election as president-elect and assumption of presidential duties ensures continuity, allowing incoming presidents to carefully observe two predecessors at work before taking the position.
Dr. Nestler’s research focuses on the neurobiological basis of drug addiction and depression. His laboratory, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Mental Health, and the Hope for Depression Research Foundation, has pioneered studies to understand, at the molecular level, how stress and drug abuse change nerve cells and their brain circuits to cause behavioral abnormalities and to use this knowledge to develop improved treatments.
“Since he assumed his leadership role at Mount Sinai in 2008, Eric has overseen transformational growth of the neuroscience community under the auspices of The Friedman Brain Institute,” says Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. “We are proud and so pleased that our friend and colleague will be leading the society forward. I have no doubt that his vision for and commitment to a better understanding of the nervous system will benefit the SFN, as it has for the neurosciences here at Mount Sinai.”
Uniquely, FBI integrates all neuroscience efforts throughout Mount Sinai, from basic research in animal and cell models in the Icahn School of Medicine to the delivery of clinical care across the Mount Sinai Health System. Under Dr. Nestler’s leadership, the neuroscience program has seen unprecedented growth. In the past 10 years, more than 35 basic neuroscience faculty members have been recruited to Mount Sinai, with clinical research and treatment programs experiencing similar expansion. The FBI’s research and clinical faculty members are national and international leaders, committed to an improved understanding of the nervous system and to real clinical advances in diagnosis and treatment across a broad range of brain and spinal cord disorders. The Fishberg Department of Neuroscience at Mount Sinai is ranked No.3 in the nation for funding from the National Institutes of Health.
To learn more about the Friedman Brain Institute, please visit: http://icahn.mssm.edu/research/friedman
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with more than 43,000 employees working across eight hospitals, over 400 outpatient practices, nearly 300 labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time — discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.
Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 7,300 primary and specialty care physicians; 13 joint-venture outpatient surgery centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and more than 30 affiliated community health centers. We are consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals, receiving high "Honor Roll" status, and are highly ranked: No. 1 in Geriatrics and top 20 in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Neurology/Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology/Lung Surgery, Rehabilitation, and Urology. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 12 in Ophthalmology. U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Children’s Hospitals” ranks Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital among the country’s best in several pediatric specialties.
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