Tulane launches new Brain Institute

Tulane University formally launched its new Brain Institute, a university-wide initiative created to coordinate and support brain-related research and neuroscience endeavors at Tulane.

The Institute combines expertise and research from faculty, postdocs and students (from undergraduates to Ph.Ds) at the Schools of Medicine, Science and Engineering, Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Liberal Arts, and the Tulane National Primate Research Center. 

Marta and Bill Marko provided the lead gift to jumpstart the initiative, which has set a fundraising goal of $50 million.  To date, over $3.7 million has been raised.

“The Brain Institute is providing the infrastructure to allow us to take the already strong record of research, education and training in the neurosciences at Tulane to the next level." 

- Dr. Jill Daniel, Director of the new Brain Institute

“We hope our contributions can help create additional momentum for the initiative and that it provides the physical space and sense of place for the initiatives, but more importantly we hope our gifts propel all those working as part of the Brain Institute to be role models for interdisciplinary cooperation in order to achieve breakthroughs that could not be accomplished in silos,” Bill Marko said.

Even before the fundraising is complete and all of the physical infrastructure is fulfilled, the Brain Institute is already making a difference across campus through the Marko Spark Innovation Research Fund.  This research fund encourages collaborative, daring brain research in memory, cognition, and neurodegeneration early-stage studies across the university. 

“The Tulane Brain Institute solidifies and strengthens our interdisciplinary tradition through an invaluable matrix of researchers from all across the university,” Tulane President Mike Fitts said.  “Tulane owes much gratitude to Bill and Marta Marko for their generous support of the Brain Institute. I also want to thank Dr. Jill Daniel, the Director of this new Brain Institute. Jill is the perfect person to lead this endeavor combining disciplines from across the university to study the brain.”

“The Brain Institute is providing the infrastructure to allow us to take the already strong record of research, education and training in the neurosciences at Tulane to the next level.  We are working to bring the Tulane Brain Institute to levels of national prominence,” Daniel said.

The Brain Institute will have a physical presence on both the uptown and downtown campuses.  The center of activity uptown will be in new soon-to-built facilities at the state-of-the-art Donna and Paul Flower Hall for Research and Innovation, while downtown the activities will be spread throughout the Health Sciences Campus and at the newly renovated J. Bennett Johnston Building.