Dennis Choi, MD, PhD, a neuroscientist renowned for his groundbreaking
research on brain and spinal cord injury, has been recruited to lead two
major neuroscience programs at Emory: the Neuroscience, Human Nature and
Society Initiative within the university-wide strategic plan, and the
Comprehensive Neuroscience Center within the Woodruff Health Sciences
Center.

A former president of the Society for Neuroscience, Dr. Choi served as head
of the neurology department at Washington University School of Medicine from
1991 until 2001 and as neurologist-in-chief at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. From
2001 until 2006 he was Executive Vice President for neuroscience at Merck
Research Labs, leaving to join Boston University, where he has been a
professor of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics. He comes to Emory
as a professor in the Department of Neurology on August 1.

As Executive Director of Emory¹s strategic neurosciences initiative, Dr.
Choi will oversee the development of four key areas: neuroscience education,
behavioral neuroscience and cognition, brain therapeutics, and molecular and
translational imaging research. Each program builds on strengths across
multiple units of the university and existing neuroscience programs,
including Emory¹s Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, an NIH-funded
Alzheimer¹s Disease Research Center, a neuroimaging research center,
neurosciences programs at Yerkes, the Fuqua Center for Late-life Depression,
and research programs funded through the collaborative Center for Behavioral
Neurosciences.

As Director of the Comprehensive Neuroscience Center in the Woodruff Health
Sciences Center, Dr. Choi will help integrate research, patient care, and
education in neuroscience, one of five areas in the Vision 2012 strategic
plan charged with developing a new model for patient-centered care as well
as distinctive health services based on discovery, innovation, and
measurable impact on patients¹ health.

Dr. Choi is a member of the Institute of Medicine and its Forum on
Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders, a fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the executive
committee of the Dana Alliance for Brain Research. He is former vice
president of the American Neurological Association.

His research on the mechanisms of neuronal cell death and the underlying
mechanisms of brain and spinal cord injury has been recognized by several
awards, including the Silvio O. Conte Decade of the Brain Award, the
Christopher Reeve Research Medal, and the Ho-Am Prize in Medical Science.

Dr. Choi has served on numerous scientific and advisory boards, including
the National Academy of Science Board on Life Sciences, and as chairman of
the U.S./Canada Regional Committee of the International Brain Research
Organization. He has held membership in multiple editorial boards, including
a founding co-editorship of the journal, Neurobiology of Disease.