Michael N. Lehman, Ph.D., a leader in the field of neuroendocrinology and circadian rhythms, is the newly appointed director of 麻豆精选鈥檚 Brain Health Research Institute.
In his new role, Dr. Lehman will bring together researchers from a wide variety of disciplines at 麻豆精选and throughout Northeast Ohio whose work seeks to explore, expand and advance our knowledge of the human brain and how it functions.
鈥淭he brain really is the final frontier for medicine,鈥 Dr. Lehman said, explaining his enthusiasm for taking the helm of the institute. 鈥淚 am very excited and happy to be here to help contribute to the growth of neuroscience research and education at 麻豆精选and its partners in a unique and dynamic way. We have a tremendous opportunity with the institute to lead new discoveries in our understanding of the brain, stemming from the wide diversity of research and scholarship on our own campus, and our linkages with regional partners in academic medicine to translate those discoveries into new treatments for brain and nervous system diseases.鈥
Dr. Lehman continued, 鈥淚 am so impressed with the collegial spirit of 麻豆精选neuroscientists, the potential for collaborations that cross traditional university boundaries and the strong support and commitment for neuroscience from senior leadership. My hope is the institute will be a nexus for collaboration in both neuroscience research and education, stimulating discoveries that will ultimately have a positive impact on the health of Northeast Ohio.鈥
Dr. Lehman most recently has served as a professor and chair of the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomical Sciences at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi, and as chairman of the board of the medical center鈥檚 Neuro Institute.
His hiring followed an exhaustive national search for the right candidate to lead the Brain Health Research Institute.
Accompanying Dr. Lehman to 麻豆精选is his wife, Lique Coolen, Ph.D., an established neuroscience researcher who studies addiction and spinal cord injury, and who will assume the role of associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Lehman鈥檚 lab has been funded continually by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies for more than 30 years.
鈥淲e are extremely excited that the inaugural director of the 麻豆精选Brain Health Research Institute is a world-class neuroscientist with a wealth of experience as both a researcher and a leader,鈥 said Paul E. DiCorleto, Ph.D., vice president for research and sponsored programs.
鈥淒r. Lehman has a passion for assembling teams that employ multidisciplinary approaches to answering important questions in brain health,鈥 Vice President DiCorleto said. 鈥淗e will lead the effort to take our existing neuroscience research effort to the next level. We are fortunate to have attracted a director of Dr. Lehman鈥檚 caliber, and we look forward to his positive impact on 麻豆精选 research.鈥
麻豆精选President Beverly J. Warren said the university 鈥渟tands for fearless innovation without boundaries 鈥 and generous interdisciplinary collaboration. We have no more exciting expression of these ideals than the Brain Health Research Institute.
鈥淭he institute is poised to foster and deliver ongoing breakthroughs in 21st century public health. Because it applies a holistic strategy to advancing total brain wellness, the institute can literally change the way the world looks at brain health. The institute is deliberately designed to be different: to challenge conventional wisdom, to look at old problems in new ways. And it requires a different kind of leader 鈥 Dr. Lehman is that leader,鈥 President Warren said.
Over the past few months, Dr. Lehman has worked diligently to assemble for the institute a Steering Committee comprised of representatives from an impressive list of medical research institutions in Northeast Ohio, including the Cleveland Clinic, Akron Children鈥檚 Hospital and Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED).
鈥淚鈥檓 delighted that Dr. Michael Lehman will be joining 麻豆精选 to lead its Brain Health Research Institute,鈥 said Jeff Wenstrup, Ph.D., associate dean of research at NEOMED鈥檚 College of Medicine, where he also serves as professor and chair of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology and director of the Hearing Research Group. 鈥淚 have known Dr. Lehman for many years. He is an outstanding and productive neuroscience researcher, an accomplished leader and administrator, and is well-connected to the national community of neuroscience researchers and educators. I look forward to working with him to strengthen research in brain health both at 麻豆精选 and throughout Northeast Ohio.鈥
Dr. Wenstrup will serve on the institute鈥檚 steering committee.
In conjunction with the expansion of the Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State's College of Arts and Sciences will now offer a bachelor鈥檚 degree in neuroscience beginning in Fall Semester 2019.
Part of Dr. Lehman鈥檚 charge at 麻豆精选will be to unite a wide body of brain health research encompassing such topics as Alzheimer鈥檚 and Parkinson鈥檚 diseases; brain injury and neurodegeneration; and brain control of emotion, memory and thought.
Dr. Lehman鈥檚 work at the University of Mississippi included the creation of the Neuro Institute, a university-wide neuroscience institute that integrated research, education and healthcare, based on a unique partnership of academic departments and hospitals. He had served as chair of its operating board.
Dr. Lehman received his bachelor鈥檚 degree in biology-psychology from Wesleyan University and his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Michigan.
Prior to his work at the University of Mississippi, he was professor of molecular and integrative physiology and obstetrics and gynecology and co-director of the Reproductive Sciences Program at the University of Michigan. Before the University of Michigan, Dr. Lehman served as professor and chair of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario. He began his career at the University of Cincinnati where he rose to the rank of professor in the Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, and was director of the Neuroscience Graduate Program and vice chair for research.
Dr. Lehman has been widely published in his specialty areas of neuroendocrinology and circadian rhythms, and is currently chair of the Integrative and Clinical Endocrinology and Reproduction Study Section at the Center for Scientific Review of the NIH. He is a senior editor for the Journal of Neuroendocrinology, and in 2017 was elected a Fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Science for his contributions to the field of integrative neuroscience. He was the 2018 recipient of the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine.
Learn More About Kent State鈥檚 Brain Health Research Institute