Mark F. Bear, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Dr. Mark Bear is the Picower Professor of Neuroscience in The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute from 1994 to 2015, and served as Director of the Picower Institute from 2007 to 2009. Prior to moving to MIT in 2003, Dr. Bear was the Sidney A. and Dorothy Doctors Fox Professor at Brown University School of Medicine for 17 years. After receiving his B.S. degree from Duke University, he earned his Ph.D. degree in neurobiology at Brown. He took postdoctoral training from Wolf Singer at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, Germany, and from Leon Cooper at Brown. His long-standing scientific interest is in how the brain is modified by experience, and his lab is currently focused on applying knowledge of the elementary mechanisms of synaptic plasticity to overcome genetic or environmental adversity. Professor Bear has a deep commitment to mentorship of PhD students and postdocs. At MIT, he currently serves as the Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department Faculty Postdoctoral Officer and as a member of the Junior Faculty Mentorship Committee. He is also a member of the MIT Faculty Postdoc Advisory Committee. Professor Bear has proudly mentored over 20 predoctoral and 25 postdoctoral trainees, and many of them are now distinguished independent investigators.
Education
Ph.D. degree, Brown University, 1984
B.Sc. degree, Duke University, 1979
Professional Positions
Picower Professor of Neuroscience, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003 - Present
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 1999 - 2015
Director, The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, MIT, 2007-2009
Sidney and Dorothy Doctors Fox Professor of Visual Neuroscience, Brown University Medical School, 1996-2003
Associate Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 1994-1999
Professor of Neuroscience, Brown University Medical School, 1995-2003
Associate Professor with tenure, Brown University Medical School, 1991-1995
Assistant Professor (tenure track), Brown University Medical School, 1986-1991
Research Assistant Professor, Brown Center for Neural Science, 1985-1986
Max-Planck Fellow with Wolf Singer, Frankfurt, 1984-1985
Significant Memberships
Member, National Academy of Medicine, 2022 - Present
Elected Fellow, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2005
Elected Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2004
Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2003
Elected Fellow, Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, 1999
Elected Fellow, The Neurosciences Institute, La Jolla, California, 1999
Member, Dana Alliance for Brain Research Executive Committee, 2010 - Present
Member, Institute of Medicine Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders, 2009 - Present
Board of Reviewing Editors, Science, 2011-2014
Jury Member, Society for Neuroscience Julius Axelrod Prize, 2009-2011
Jury Member, Antonio Champalimaud Foundation Vision Award, 2007-
Scientific Advisory Board, Brain Research New Zealand, 2015-
Scientific Advisory Board, BioAxone Biosciences, Inc., 2015-
Scientific Advisory Board, Sage Therapeutics, Inc., 2013-2015
Scientific Advisory Board, Mnemosyne Pharmaceutics, Inc., 2011-
Scientific Advisory Board, SynapDx Corp., 2011-
Scientific Advisory Committee, Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Johns Hopkins University, 2011- Present
Scientific Advisory Board, FRAXA Research Foundation, 2009 - Present
Scientific Advisory Panel, Neuroscience Therapeutic Area, Pfizer, Inc, 2008-2010, 2014-
Scientific Advisory Board, The Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute, MIT, 2007 - Present
Scientific Advisory Board, Seaside Therapeutics, Inc, 2005 - Present
Awards
Beckman-Argyros Vision Award 2018
IPSEN Foundation Neuroscience Prize 2015
Ray Fuller Award, American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 2012
Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Study of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors, 7th International mGluR Meeting, Taormina, Italy, 2011
Pioneer Award, FRAXA Research Foundation, 2011
William and Enid Rosen Award for Outstanding Contributions to Understanding Fragile X Syndrome, National Fragile X Foundation, 2006
Brown University Elizabeth H. Leduc Award for Teaching Excellence, 2000
Brown University Class of 2000 Barrett Hazeltine Citation for Teaching Excellence
Fogarty Senior International Fellowship, 1993
Society for Neuroscience Young Investigator Award, 1993
United States Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, 1988
Alfred P. Sloan Award, 1987