Dr. Nenad Sestan appointed the Cushing Professor of Neuroscience
Dr. Nenad Sestan, recently named as the Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Neuroscience, focuses his research on the molecular mechanisms by which the connections between neurons are formed in the cerebral cortex, the part of the mammalian brain that processes senses, commands motor activity, and underlies higher-order cognitive functions.
Sestan’s laboratory also studies how these developmental processes were modified during human evolution and may become compromised in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. Most recently, Sestan led a team of researchers in the development of a first-in-class technology capable of restoring circulation and cellular functions in the brain following prolonged circulatory arrest and global anoxia.
Sestan earned his M.D. from the University of Zagreb and his Ph.D. in neurobiology from Yale. He began his academic career as an assistant professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the Yale School of Medicine. In addition to his new position, he holds secondary appointments in the Departments of Psychiatry, Genetics, and Comparative Medicine, and at the Yale Child Study Center. He also serves as a member of the Kavli Institute for Neuroscience and executive director of the Yale Genome Editing Center.
Sestan’s research has been supported by grants from federal agencies and private foundations, including the National Institutes of Health, the Simons Foundation, the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the March of Dimes Foundation, and the Whitehall Foundation. This work has been widely published in professional journals and chapters in edited books.
His honors include the Constance Lieber Prize, the Krieg Cortical Discoverer Award, and the NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Award. He has been an invited lecturer at universities and professional organizations throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.
