Research and Funding

Dr. Neil Buckholtz named head of Division of Neuroscience

October 2, 2012

Neil BuckholtzThe National Institute on Aging is pleased to announce that Neil Buckholtz, Ph.D., has been appointed as the new Director of the Division of Neuroscience (DN). Dr. Buckholtz comes to this position after 19 years of distinguished leadership as chief of the Dementias of Aging Branch in DN.

“Dr. Buckholtz’s experience in the development, coordination and implementation of basic and clinical Alzheimer’s research will be a tremendous asset at this critical juncture in research on cognition, Alzheimer’s and aging,” said NIA Director Richard J. Hodes.

Dr. Buckholtz and colleagues led the successful NIH/HHS Alzheimer’s Disease Research Summit held in May, Hodes noted. At the Summit, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius introduced the Nation’s first National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease which placed NIA at the forefront of its research effort. The Summit resulted in recommendations that are already guiding NIH and others in the field. Dr. Buckholtz is well known for his creativity and determination as a driving force behind the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, which has become a model for public private partnerships in science and data sharing in neuroscience and other fields.

“I look forward to Neil’s continued innovative thinking and problem-solving as we tackle important challenges of an aging population,” Hodes said.

Dr. Buckholtz holds a doctorate in physiological psychology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and was a faculty member at the Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Psychiatry, from 1970-1983, before coming to NIH. 

Page last updated: November 26, 2012