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Today, the ӳ����ý announced associate member appointments for 195 faculty members from Harvard, MIT, and the Harvard-affiliated hospitals. Associate members are deeply engaged in the scientific life of the ӳ����ý, leading critical ӳ����ý projects and helping shape the scientific plans of the institute.

“It is thrilling to have so many talented colleagues from across our partner institutions engaged in the work and scientific life of the ӳ����ý,” said David Altshuler, a founding core member of the ӳ����ý and the Institute’s chief academic officer. “They are a key part of our community and help define and lead many of the ӳ����ý’s most important scientific projects.”

ӳ����ý associate members hold primary appointments in a home department at MIT, Harvard University, and/or one of the Harvard-affiliated hospitals – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital Boston, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Massachusetts General Hospital – while at the same time being an integral part of the scientific community and work of the ӳ����ý.

“Associate members are a vital part of the ӳ����ý’s scientific community,” said Steve Hyman, director of the ӳ����ý’s Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research. “Within the Stanley Center, many of our senior staff members hold faculty appointments at one of the ӳ����ý’s partner institutions while simultaneously leading critical projects and teams here at the ӳ����ý. Associate members bring deep expertise and insight to our program, and to many others program, platforms, and projects underway at the ӳ����ý.”

The ӳ����ý’s faculty consists of core members and associate members; both play a crucial role in the ӳ����ý’s scientific programs and activities. The newly appointed associated members began their two-year terms in October, joining 36 senior associate members whose four-year terms began in 2010.

ӳ����ý associate members work with ӳ����ý staff, faculty and trainees to develop collaborative projects, many of which utilize the ӳ����ý’s unique platforms and state-of-the-art capabilities. All ӳ����ý faculty members (core and associate) maintain full teaching and administrative duties at their home institutions. Associate members maintain their primary lab at their home institution, although they may have additional space at ӳ����ý to support collaborative research projects.

“It is a pleasure to welcome new associate members, and welcome back returning associate members,” said Bruce Birren, co-director of the ӳ����ý’s Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program. “They are a seamless part of our community, and also a critical part of who we are as an institution and contribute to what makes the ӳ����ý unique. At scientific meetings, at the ӳ����ý Scientific Retreat, and in conversations all around the institute, associate members are helping develop ideas, questions and new capabilities that will drive the ӳ����ý forward.”