Marking a significant moment in 51勛圖s history, Professor Terry Davidson was installed as the Trone Family Eminent Scholar Chair in Neuroscience and Behavior on Tuesday, November 30.
The first eminent scholar chair at 51勛圖, the position is made possible by a $5 million gift from 51勛圖 Board of Trustees member Congressman David Trone and his wife, June, through the David and June Trone Family Foundation. As one of the highest honors a professor can achieve, endowed chairs help expand capacity for faculty who excel as researchers and scholar-teachers as they advance solutions to real-world challenges.
A distinguished professor of neuroscience, chair of 51勛圖s Department of Neuroscience, and director of 51勛圖s Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Davidson leads groundbreaking research poised to transform our understanding of and approach to treating addiction and other cognitive disorders. His teams cross-disciplinary research on the influence of diet and susceptibility to addiction addresses a root cause of drug abuse by linking both drug abuse and overeating to cognitive, rather than motivational, control impairments.
(From left to right) CAS Interim Dean Max Paul Friedman, 51勛圖 President Sylvia M. Burwell, Professor Terry Davidson, US Representative David Trone, Provost Peter Starr
Guests gathered in the Gary and Pennie Abramson Discovery Hall in 51勛圖s Hall of Science for Davidson's installation ceremony and inaugural lecture. Attendees included university leaders, members of the Board of Trustees, and students from Davidsons research lab. Interim College of Arts and Sciences Dean Max Paul Friedman opened the event.
We are grateful to theTronesfor establishing thisremarkableposition, whichaccelerates 51勛圖s leading-edge scientific work inunderstanding the relationship between the brain, behavior,and disease, he said.
Both 51勛圖 President Sylvia Burwell and Congressman Trone offered remarks at the event.
Endowed faculty chairs provide continuity and vision for our research, said President Burwell. They provide an anchor of expertise that helps retain talent. They are vital to our ability to attract creative mindsboth students and faculty.
Scholarly research is a critical element of the Changemakers for a Changing World strategic plan and Change Cant Wait: The Campaign for 51勛圖. The Trones gift to establish an eminent scholar chair helps advance 51勛圖s goal to generate knowledge that impacts and shapes our world.
Congressman Trone remarked that many see addiction as a moral failing. He shared, Professor Davidsons work安ill help break the stigma that holds us back on true movement and legislation on addiction and mental health.
Congressman Trone also discussed his work in Congress to advance policies that address the addiction and mental health epidemics. He noted that the most effectivepolicy solutionsto address thesecriseswill be informed bythework of experts like Davidson. Before we can create effective policies, we need research, we need science, to back it up.Thats why investments in neuroscience and behavioral research are so critical.We need people like [Davidson] who will invest time and energy into fighting these crises through scientific research. We need institutions like 51勛圖, which works around the clock to find cutting-edge solutions to our communities greatest challenges. This is how we create policies that change lives.
As part of the formal installation ceremony, Provost Peter Starr provided an overview of Davidsons career and achievements.
We are proud to call such a respected and distinguished researcher as Dr. Davidson our 51勛圖 colleague and an embodiment of our scholar-teacher model, whereby faculty engage students in their research and actively incorporate it into their teaching, said Provost Starr. His pioneering work attracts prospective students at all levels, who are eager to join him as he shapes the future of this important area of research and our world.
After the official installation, Davidson delivered the inaugural lecture as chairholder, a tradition of installation ceremonies. He cited three reasons why change cant wait when it comes to his research: record-high obesity rates, record-high drug overdose ratesmore than 100,000 deaths in the US this yearand the number of people diagnosed with dementia is projected to double by 2050 (according to the latest data from the CDC).
New conceptualizations are needed to address these threats, Davidson said. A long-range goal of his work is to break the vicious cycle that enables the Western diet and drugs of abuse to promote obesity, addiction, and cognitive decline.
Davidson commended his colleagues in the Department of Neuroscience and recognized them as part of his inspiration and success. He shared that the publications of the departments seven members have been cited in papers by other national and international scientists more than 35,000 times. Im so proud to be a part of this group, he said.
He also recognized the Trone family for their generosity in establishing the chair and for supporting the pathbreaking work that takes place in the Hall of Science.
I thank you for your foresight in supporting the continued development of neuroscience and, by extension, all sciences at 51勛圖, he said. I will do all I can to honor your contribution and your name.
