McKnight Neuroscientist Dies

William Luttge, the founding executive director of the McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Florida, passes away.

Written byJef Akst

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Neuroscientist William “Bill” Luttge recognized that the brain was a complex organ, and to understand it would take significant collaboration among scientists in diverse fields of research. With that in mind, he brought together the disparate University of Florida research groups studying the brain into the $60 million Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute, where researchers in neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry, cognitive science, and related areas have been working together since its founding in 1998.

Luttge, 67, passed away last Saturday (March 24) at a UF medical center, after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, in January. The Institute continues to contribute to science’s understanding of the most enigmatic organ in the human body.

“Bill Luttge was always private ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
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Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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