School Notes: School of Medicine
May/June 2020

Neuroscientist named Yale’s next vice provost for research

Michael C. Crair, William Ziegler III Professor of Neuroscience and professor of ophthalmology and visual science, and the School of Medicine’s deputy dean for scientific affairs (basic science departments), is Yale University’s new vice provost for research, effective April 1. In an email to the Yale community announcing Crair’s appointment, Provost Scott Strobel wrote: “Mike is recognized as an international leader in systems neuroscience. His work is notable for novel imaging and analysis techniques to examine neural circuit function and development in the mammalian brain. Mike brings to his new position several years of experience in university leadership. In 2017, he was named deputy dean for scientific affairs (basic science departments) of Yale School of Medicine. As vice provost for research, Mike will be a crucial partner in implementing Yale’s science priorities.” 

Maintaining a high ranking in research funding

The medical school ranked sixth in the nation in research dollars awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2019, according to Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. The 2019 total of $451.5 million continues the school’s position in the top ten among US medical schools that it has maintained every year since 2001. Yale School of Medicine ranked first last year in NIH research funding for dermatology and psychiatry and second for emergency medicine, in addition to high placements for other departments such as microbiology and radiology. “The amount of research funding that the NIH awards to Yale scientists is one measure of our ability to have an impact on human health through discovery,” says Nancy J. Brown, the Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of Medicine and C. N. H. Lawrence Professor of Internal Medicine.