The UW School of Medicine is celebrating the official start of the Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics, effective Sept. 16, 2024. Beth Buffalo, PhD, has been appointed to serve as founding chair.
“Dr. Beth Buffalo is widely recognized for her neuroscience research, and she has provided outstanding leadership in her previous role as chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics,” says Tim Dellit, MD, CEO, UW Medicine and Paul G. Ramsey Endowed Dean of the School of Medicine. “I look forward to working with her to support the new department and the collective vision that has been created by the members of both departments.”
In a message to the members of the new department, Dellit also thanked Rachel Wong, PhD, for her tremendous leadership as chair of the Department of Biological Structure since 2017. She will continue to serve as faculty in the new department until her planned retirement next summer.
A new chapter for School of Medicine research and education
The Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics has been formed by consolidating the previously separate departments of Biological Structure and Physiology and Biophysics. It was approved earlier this year by the UW Board of Regents based on a proposal from Buffalo and Wong.
The new department will strengthen neuroscience research and educational activities by building on the two departments’ expertise in the fields of neuroscience, physiology and biophysics and their shared goal of establishing a quantitative and mechanistic understanding of molecular, cellular and nervous system function. It will also support recruitment and retention efforts to increase diversity among faculty, trainees and students.
Looking to the future, the department’s neuroscientists will have a key role in UW Medicine’s plans to establish a regional hub for biomedical and translational research through the Washington Initiative for Neurosciences. With initial funding from the Washington Research Foundation, this initiative is being designed to move laboratory discoveries to human testing and clinical applications more rapidly by supporting neuroscience efforts at UW Medicine, UW College of Arts and Sciences, UW College of Engineering and key partners, including Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Allen Institute, Microsoft and Amazon.
