MIT institute director resigns amid controversy

The director of the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will leave his position at the end of the year, following a university report that criticized his actions after another MIT neuroscience institute offered a job to a young researcher in his field. Susumu Tonegawa plans to continue his research at the institute and will retain his faculty position at MIT."It has been my great privilege to lead the transformation of the Picower Institute from its origins as the Center for Learning and Memory to its place today as a recognized world leader in neuroscience research," the 67-year-old Nobel laureate wrote in a statement. MIT Provost Rafael Rief released a response on behalf of MIT. "We respect Professor Tonegawa's decision to step down as director of the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory. We are grateful for the impact he has had in transforming the Institute into a world leader in neuroscience research," the statement said.Neither Tonegawa nor others involved at MIT responded to requests for further comment.Tonegawa's resignation statement went on to say, "As a faculty member of the Picower Institute, I remain committed to helping foster a new spirit of collaboration in MIT's neuroscience community."A lack of collaboration between neuroscience institutes at MIT was at the heart of a hiring controversy earlier this year. Tonegawa was criticized for discouraging a candidate for a position at MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research, in part because her area of research overlapped with his. Alla Karpova, who was then doing postdoctoral work at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, had been offered a faculty position in MIT's Biology Department and a research slot at the McGovern Institute. According to a report on the incident prepared by an ad hoc committee of MIT faculty, Tonegawa sent Karpova e-mails saying he would not collaborate with her and advising her not to accept the job offer. Karpova is now a group leader at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Farm Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia. The committee concluded it was appropriate for Tonegawa to warn Karpova that he did not plan to collaborate with her, but he should not have implied that certain mouse research facilities at MIT would not be available to her. The committee also criticized Tonegawa for sending discouraging e-mails to Karpova after a job offer had been made. However, the report did not recommend any disciplinary action against Tonegawa.The report also criticized the leadership of the McGovern Institute and the rivalry between the MIT neuroscience institutes."The leaders of the McGovern and Picower Institutes have not worked cooperatively to serve the entire neuroscience community," the report stated. "The leaders of the Institutes need to have the attributes of collegiality and a willingness to cooperate. The goal should be to make the neuroscience program synergistic, not antagonistic."The report itself received criticism and was removed from the MIT Web site, although copies are available elsewhere. Patti Richards, a spokeswoman for MIT, told The Scientist that comments had been accepted from people wishing to point out factual errors in the report and that the feedback would be "carefully reviewed." MIT is assembling an Advisory Council on Neuroscience, and the institution expects to make changes that will improve cooperation between its neuroscience entities and "provide for a more streamlined and collaborative hiring process," Richards noted in an email. "Of course, this will take time and careful deliberation, and we plan to have lots of conversations going forward, with the goal of learning from previous mistakes," she added.MIT said an interim director will be named before Tonegawa steps down from his leadership at the Picower Institute.Andrew Holtz mail@the-scientist.comLinks within this articlePicower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT http://web.mit.edu/picower/index.htmlSusumu Tonegawa http://web.mit.edu/picower/faculty/tonegawa.htmlE. Garfield, "What Tonegawa' s Nobel Doesn't Mean," The Scientist, Nov. 16, 1987 http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/8041Statements by Susumu Tonegawa and MIT Provost Rafael Reif http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2006/tonegawa-statements.htmlAlla Y. Karpova http://www.hhmi.org/research/groupleaders/karpova_bio.htmlK. Weir, "Janelia Farm Staffing Up," The Scientist, Oct. 5, 2006 http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/25013Copy of Report to the Provost, Ad Hoc Committee To Review the Structure of the MIT Neuroscience Program and Recent Junior Faculty Hiring in Neuroscience http://bric.postech.ac.kr/trend/biostat/2006/200611109_1.pdfF. Hoke, "Cerami's New Lab Aims For Bountiful Blend Of Basic Research And Product Development," The Scientist, Feb. 22, 1993 http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/15977

MIT institute director resigns amid controversy

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