Jonathan Kipnis, PhD, an internationally recognized scientific leader in how the nervous and immune systems interact in neurodegenerative, neuroinflammatory and neurodevelopmental disorders, has been named a BJC Investigator at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He will join the Department of Pathology and Immunology, with secondary appointments in the neurology, neuroscience, and neurosurgery departements.
Kipnis is currently the Harrison Distinguished Teaching Professor and chair of the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottesville, Va. He also directs the Center for Brian Immunology and Glia at UVA. His appointment begins July 1.
The BJC Investigators Program is focused on basic science and was inspired by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s philosophy of investing in scientists with exceptional creative talent. The program aims to recruit innovative scientists who bring novel insights to major biological questions and whose ideas have the potential to lead to new ways of understanding health and disease.
“I am thrilled that Dr. Jonathan Kipnis has accepted our offer to join the School of Medicine,” said David H. Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, the George and Carol Bauer Dean of the School of Medicine, and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor. “His discovery of lymphatic vessels in the tissues around the brain has been a breakthrough in understanding how the immune system plays a key role in neurological diseases and has transformed the field of neuroimmunology. His energy, enthusiasm and pioneering spirit are contagious, and I am grateful to BJC HealthCare for providing resources through the BJC Investigators Program to bring brilliant scientists like Jony to our medical school. Almost his entire team will be moving to St. Louis. We are realizing the vision of BJC HealthCare that this initiative would boost the impact of our academic partnership and, in turn, how BJC and Washington University contribute to the vibrant future of our city.”