From the beginning, Hank and Shelly had a strong vision for the Michigan Neuroscience Institute (MNI) and understood the importance of connecting neuroscience researchers across the entire U-M campus.
The Interim Co-Directors played key roles in expanding MNI's membership. Under their tenure, MNI's membership grew exponentially and the Institute has surpassed 150 affiliate members. More importantly, Shelly and Hank focused on creating varied and diverse collaborative neuroscience research opportunities.
MNI established tools and resources for the U-M Neuroscience Community that provide real value to its members. The resource database is one such tool that provides opportunities to share equipment, animal models, chemical and reagent resources and expertise across MNI members. They also led the Institute as it launched and hosted numerous neuroscience-related events, including MNI's monthly neuroscience seminar series and a reinvigorated U-M Neuroscience Conference.
Seeing that the recruitment and retention of postdoctoral fellows needed improvement, the Interim Co-Directors led the launch of a Postdoctoral Advancement Program to provide the framework to build a community of neuroscience postdocs that offered social, professional, and networking opportunities. Under Hank and Shelly's leadership, the Postdoctoral Fellows community has grown and is now an active group of 50+ neuroscience postdocs who meet monthly and host social gatherings.
The list of Hank and Shelly's successes at MNI could go on. Building on the efforts of long-time institute Co-Directors, Huda Akil and Stan Watson, the Interim Co-Directors have been a driving force for neuroscience at the University of Michigan and have set the institute up for a bright future. Thank you, Shelly and Hank, for your service and dedication to MNI.
