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Understanding Behaviorby Ruth Sorelle, M.P.H.
Founding chair of neurobiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, director of the Civitan International Research Center, the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, the UAB Mental Retardation Research Center and a host of other centers at the school, he had already made his mark in the field of neuroscience. However, in BCM, he saw a strong department that he could mold into an even more potent force in the field. That is why he agreed to become Chair of BCM's Department of Neuroscience and Director of the College's Neuroscience Initiatives. "I was only going to make a move to a place where the neurosciences are at the top of the portfolio," he said. His enthusiasm for his field and the work of his faculty is obvious. He knows what the scientists in the field are doing and how the work of his faculty members fits in with the current thought in the field. When Dr. P. Read Montague, Jr., Director of the BCM Human Neuroimaging Laboratory, published an important paper in the journal Science recently, Friedlander was among the first to point out its value to future understanding of the human condition. He often goes outside the usual scientific realm, rolling up his sleeves and working with parent advocacy groups to help them hone the particulars of their funding proposals so that they get the most research for their hard-won dollars. He plans to bring that kind of passion to his role at BCM. He credits Dr. James W. Patrick, former Chair of the department and current Senior Vice President and Dean for Research at BCM, with bringing neuroscience to the level at which it currently exists here. That foundation will enable him to recruit more outstanding individuals to the department, he said. He also sees great potential in interdisciplinary programs that go across departmental boundaries. That is why he accepted directorship of Neuroscience Initiatives, a program that will enable many different kinds of scientists to work together on problems that involve the brain. "We have outstanding neuroscientists on campus who are in departments other than neuroscience. The pieces are in place to building something that goes beyond the departmental level," he said. "Like all biomedical sciences, the neurosciences have access to the human genome. The neurosciences have also developed relationships outside the biomedical sciences that have resulted in sophisticated tools that will help researchers get a grasp on brain function." Friedlander plans to continue his own work into the mysteries of development disorders. Several members of his lab will come with him, and he hopes to work with many people who are already here. He finds it exhilarating that scientists are using tools such as mathematics, computational biology and engineering systems to address issues of behavior. "Any neuroscientist, whether he or she is working on genes, cells or larger parts of the brain, is interested in understanding behavior," he said. "By using all these different tools, we are creating teams of scientists that are truly interdisciplinary." These teams are tackling the tough problems - benevolence, aggressiveness, decision-making, learning and memory, motivation and the dynamics of group interactions. "Fifteen or 20 years ago, if you had said we would be approaching these issues with the hard core and quantitative sciences, most of us would have laughed. It is an unparalleled opportunity to apply genetics, neuroimaging, behavior and computation to understanding the higher order processes of the brain," said Friedlander. "We have the opportunity at BCM to become the leading institution to make those contributions." |
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Volume 1, Issue 2, Summer 2005 |
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| Last modified: October 10, 2008 |
Dr. Michael J. Friedlander was not looking for a new challenge when Baylor College of Medicine came knocking at his door.