Portrait of Fred H. Gage

Fred H. Gage, Ph.D.
Co-Chair, Professor, Salk Institute

Dr. Gage is a co-founder of BCI. Dr. Gage's lab has shown that, contrary to years of dogma, human beings are capable of growing new nerve cells throughout life. Small populations of immature nerve cells are found in the adult mammalian brain, and Dr. Gage is working to understand how these cells can be induced to become mature nerve cells. Dr. Gage's team is investigating how such cells can be transplanted back to the brain and spinal cord. They showed that physical exercise can enhance the growth of new brain cells and are examining the underlying molecular mechanisms, work that may lead to new therapeutics for neurodegenerative conditions. He has received multiple awards and honors including the Charles A. Dana Award for Pioneering Achievements in Health and Education (1993), the Christopher Reeve Research Medal (1997) and the Max Planck Research Prize (1999). He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and served as President, Society for Neuroscience in 2001. Top

Portrait of René Hen

René Hen, Ph.D.
Co-Chair, Professor, Columbia University

Dr. Hen is a professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Psychiatry in the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons. His research is focused on serotonin interaction with various serotonin receptor subtypes and their relation to pathological states such as depression, appetite disorders and migraines. Dr. Hen is a co-founder of Neurogenix, a neuroscience based company that merged with BCI in December of 2004. Top

Portrait of Eric R. Kandel

Eric R. Kandel, M.D.
Professor, Columbia University

Dr. Kandel is the founding Director of the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and is a Senior Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. Kandel is a distinguished leading scientist in the field of memory and learning, and he received the Albert Lasker Award in Basic Medical Research. Dr. Kandel was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology of Medicine in 2000. Dr. Kandel is co-author of Principles of Neural Science, the standard textbook in the field. He is also a co-founder of Neurogenix, a neuroscience based company that merged with BCI in December of 2004. Top

Portrait of cott A. Small

Scott A. Small, M.D.
Associate Professor, Coumbia University

Dr. Scott Small is an Associate Professor in Neurology at Columbia University. With a background in cellular physiology, he has focused on using new imaging modalities to investigate both normal and pathological mechanisms of the brain. Dr. Small was the first investigator at Columbia University to use functional MRI (fMRI), and he lead a team of investigators who published the first article using fMRI to investigate Alzheimer's disease and memory decline in the aging population. More recently, Dr. Small has developed a novel high-resolution application of fMRI which can be used to investigate physiologic dysfunction in the mouse brain. Top