Leadership:
Eric Kandel, Director
Rafael Yuste, Co-Director
History and Mission:
The Kavli Institute for Brain Science (KIBS) at Columbia University was established in 2004 with a $7.5 million gift from the Kavli Foundation. Led by 2000 Nobel laureate Eric Kandel, and co-director Rafael Yuste, KIBS focuses on the development of novel experimental and computational strategies for analyzing how signaling in neural circuits controls cognitive function and behavior.
With 37 members from a wide range of disciplines, KIBS approaches brain science from a number of angles: theoretical and computational, cognitive and psychological, cellular and systemic; while incorporating advances in nanotechnology and bench-to-bedside translational medicine. Its research unites the core sciences of chemistry, biology, and physics with disciplines ranging from philosophy and psychology, to engineering, to business, law, and economics.
One of the Institute’s goals is to build bridges within the Columbia Neuroscience community and with other Kavli Foundation-funded neuroscience institutes. KIBS, therefore, is philosophically and geographically positioned to both leverage and influence diverse efforts to understand how the mind works.
Learn more about KIBS: