New NINDS Director

[Phil Tompkins <philtomp@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I found in the June 22 issue of the journal The Scientists, which is
on-line at


2 .html

that Gerald Fischbach, chairman of Harvard Medical School's
neurobiology department, has been appointed the new director of the
National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke effective
July 30.

"At NINDS, he will oversee a staff of 700 and an annual budget of
close to $800 million. 'The challenge is to go into a government
bureaucracy, which is a bit of an unknown, and to be effective and
really make changes,' Fischbach says. He anticipates 'a lot of new
hiring in regard to administering and planning the extramural
program' and a review of the intramural program, with its 23
laboratories and branches, 'to make sure it's all of the very top
quality.' Fischbach intends to stress research into
neurodegenerative diseases, repair of injured neurons, early
neuronal development, synaptic plasticity, and chronic pain. 'I
would also very much like to expand joint programs with other
institutes,' he says, citing the new Brain Molecular Anatomy Project
(with the Institute of Mental Health) and the half-year-old Brain
Tumor Genome Anatomy Project (with the National Cancer
Institute)...."

Phil Tompkins
Hoboken NJ
60/9