History of the Department of Neurobiology

The Department of Neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine was established in 1993 by the merger of faculty within the Department of Physiology and the Department of Neurobiology, Anatomy and Cell Science (NACS).  The historical roots of Neurobiology in the School of Medicine can be traced to the recruitment of Ernst Knobil, PhD, from Harvard in 1961, as the Richard Beatty Mellon Professor and Chair of the newly created Department of Physiology. From 1974 to 1981, he also directed the University of Pittsburgh Center for Research in Primate Reproduction.  Knobil was a leader in reproductive neuroendocrinology in primates and is recognized for his localization of the pulse generator in the hypothalamus that controls the neuropeptide gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Knobil).  During the late 1970s, he began to recruit a strong group of young faculty in cellular and systems neurophysiology, some of whom (see list below) went on to found the Department of Neurobiology. In 1981, Dr. Knobil was recruited to be Dean at the medical school at the University of Texas, Houston.  With his departure, Dr. Winton Tong, an expert in thyroid hormone physiology, assumed the leadership of Physiology as interim chair.  During his tenure, Dr. John Horn and Dr. Elias Aizenman were hired. 

The recruitment of Raymond Lund, PhD, FRS and Jennifer S. Lund, PhD in 1983 catalyzed a dramatic acceleration in growth of the Pitt Neurobiology community.  Ray was hired to chair the Department of Anatomy and Cell Science, and Jenny was hired as a professor of Psychiatry and head of the recently formed Center for Neuroscience. Ray was a leader in developmental biology with particular emphasis on the visual system.  Ray hired a cohort of young neuroscientists, many of whom became founding members of the Department of Neurobiology (see list below).  In recognition of this evolution, in the mid-1980’s, Ray moved to change the name of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Science to the Department of Neurobiology, Anatomy and Cell Science (NACS).  

Jennifer Lund was an authority on the anatomy of the primate visual cortex.  David Lewis, MD, the present chair of Pitt’s Psychiatry Department, was among those who trained with Jenny.  She was also involved at the national level as an elected officer of the Society for Neuroscience and played an important role in fostering ties with faculty at Carnegie Mellon University and with the Department of Neuroscience in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. These ties eventually led to the formation of the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC).  Ray and Jenny Lund returned to their native England around 1992 to continue their research.  After the Lund’s departure, a groundswell of faculty in the Departments of Physiology and NACS moved to propose a reorganization that led to formation of today’s Department of Neurobiology, as well as the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology.

Founders of today’s Department of Neurobiology were:

Chairs of the Neurobiology Department since 1993

Eric Frank, PhD (interim; 1993 - 1995)
Daniel Simons, PhD (interim; 1995 - 1997)
Pat Levitt, PhD (1997 - 2002)
Peter Strick (interim; 2002 - 2003)
Susan Amara, PhD (2003 – 2012)
Peter Strick, PhD (2012 – present)

Other notes of interest:

Nicholas Cauna was the chair of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Science prior to the arrival of Ray Lund (1982).
Initial hires by Ray Lund included Vance Lemon, Carl Lagenaur, Pete Land and Cynthia Lance-Jones.
The Department was physically split between the 8th floor and the 3rd floor of Scaife Hall. Departmental laboratories were later moved into space on the 14th floor of the recently constructed Biomedical Sciences Tower.
In conjunction with Jenny Lund, a major focus was placed on establishing new graduate courses in neurobiology and neural development, the establishment of links with clinical faculty and the recruitment of graduate students (as well as the establishment of the Center for Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh, CNUP)

After leaving Pittsburgh, Ray Lund was a professor at Cambridge and at the University of Washington (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Lund ).