Michael Platt, director of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and a professor of neurobiology, will leave next month to become the James S. Riepe University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
 

Elizabeth Brannon, who is a professor and director of developmental psychology in Duke’s Department of Psychology Neuroscience and Platt’s wife, will also become a professor of psychology at Penn. 

Under Platt’s leadership, DIBS hired 12 new faculty to bring the institute's faculty network to 168 members. DIBS also developed the Center for Autism Brain Development and the Center on Addiction Behavior Change under Platt's leadership. 

The institute distributed $2.35 million in research incubator funding for projects and collaborations over the last six years that have returned more than $38 million in federal awards and foundation support. Its newly formed undergraduate neuroscience program has produced 387 graduates since 2011. 

“Michael Platt has provided DIBS with exceptional leadership, and we wish him well at Penn,” Provost Sally Kornbluth said. She has appointed Warren Grill, professor of biomedical engineering, to chair the search committee for the next director of DIBS and expects to name an interim director soon. 

Durham, NC -