Anatomy & Neurobiology About Message from the Chair History Giving Jobs Grad Day Contact Us Seminars Anatomy & Neurobiology Seminar Series Progress in Neuroscience Seminar Series People Faculty Members Staff Members Graduate Students Postdoctoral Scholars Education & Training Graduate Program Anatomy Academy Research Research Centers History Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology Home Research Anatomy & Neurobiology: Home Anatomy & Neurobiology: About Anatomy & Neurobiology: About > History Historical Overview Our significant milestones in the history of the UCI Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology showcase its evolution from the California College of Medicine to a leader in anatomical education and research, emphasizing its contributions to the medical field and the training of future healthcare professionals. Establishment of the Department of Anatomy: Moved to Irvine with California College of Medicine in 1968 The Department of Anatomy has a long history dating back to its association with the California College of Medicine, while that college was based in Los Angeles. However, this historical narrative will begin at the time of the move of the College of Medicine to become affiliated with the recently established University of California Irvine campus. UCI opened as a new campus in the fall of 1964, with strengths in biological and physical sciences. The California legislature, along with the UC Board of Regents, intended that a School of Medicine would be an essential part of this new university campus. UC set to acquire the independent and fully functioning California College of Medicine (at that time located in Los Angeles) and move the College to the Irvine Campus. The move to the Irvine campus began in 1967. In fall 1968, UCI welcomed the first class of entering medical students. The program in anatomy (at the time of the move, it was not yet a full department) included faculty members Lyle C. Dearden, PhD, Earle A Davis, PhD, and newly recruited Roland A Giolli, PhD. Marshall Johnson, PhD, served as department chair from 1970 to 1973. Lyle Dearden was appointed to serve as acting chair from 1974 to 1975. Primary appointee: Earle Davis, PhD, University of Illinois Teaching of Gross Anatomy Retired, 1985 Lyle Dearden, PhD, University of Washington Teaching of Gross Anatomy Retired, 1985 Roland Giolli, PhD, UC, Berkeley Neurobiology of accessory optic system Retired, 2008 John E. Swett, Chair 1976-82 Department of Anatomy, for Systems Neurobiology In 1975, the UCI medical school administration made the important decision to bolster the basic sciences in the college. As a part of that plan, John E. Swett, PhD, a neuroscientist studying the somatosensory system, was recruited from the University of Colorado to serve as chair. Swett was awarded six additional FTE’s to use for recruitment to develop the department in the field of Neurosciences. Swett was a serious individual who stressed both high quality academic research, as well as excellence in teaching. The Department of Anatomy had quadruple teaching load (measured in number of contact hours with medical students) as any of the other basic science departments, and so teaching commitment was an important factor. Swett set a goal that all faculty members would be able to teach all of the departmental courses that were part of the medical curriculum (Gross Anatomy, Microscopic Anatomy, and Neuroanatomy) and would rotate through the courses, spending three years on each course. This philosophy, while making some pedagogical sense, was not supported enthusiastically by the recruited faculty, who realized that research productivity was considerably more important to the advancement of their careers than was breadth of teaching expertise. Swett’s vision was to build a neuroscience department focused on the theme of systems neurobiology with an emphasis on sensory systems; his own work was on spinal mechanisms of somatic sensation. He began recruiting in his first year as chair, and in 1977, brought in three new faculty members at the assistant professor level, including Leonard M. Kitzes, PhD, (auditory neurophysiology), Martine J. RoBards, PhD, (somatosensory system) and Richard T. Robertson, PhD, (development of thalamocortical systems). Activity continued in 1978 with recruitments of Robert H.I. Blanks, PhD, (vestibular neurobiology), James H. Fallon, PhD, (monoaminergic systems) and Charles E. Ribak, PhD, (GABA mediated inhibitory systems in cerebral cortex). Also during this time, Swett named Herbert Killackey, PhD, associate professor of psychobiology at UCI (studying development of somatosensory barrel fields) to hold a joint appointment in anatomy. In 1981, Swett recruited Christine Gall, PhD, (plasticity of limbic system structures) to join the department as assistant professor. The anatomy faculty agreed that an essential aspect of a quality neuroscience department was the existence of a doctorate training program. A committee was formed, chaired by Robertson and included faculty members Dearden and Killackey, which prepared the proposal for a PhD program. At this time, most of the graduate education in the College of Medicine was administered through the School of Biological Sciences, so the proposal was for a PhD in biological sciences, with specialization in neuroanatomy. The first graduate student class of four students was admitted in 1981. Swett stepped down from chair in 1982 to return to his laboratory, and Dearden again was called upon to serve as acting chair. Primary appointee: John E Swett, PhD, UCLA Spinal cord circuits of somatosensory system. Retired, 1989 Robert H.I. Blanks, PhD, UCLA PostDoc Harvard Medical School Vestibular system Relocated to Florida Atlantic University, 1996 James H. Fallon, PhD University of Illinois PostDoc, UC San Diego Neurotrophic factors and monoaminergic systems Retired 2007 Christine Gall, PhD UC Irvine PostDoc, SUNY Stonybrook Neurotrophins and neuroplasticity. Currently Distinguished Professor and Department Chair Leonard M. Kitzes, PhD, UC Irvine PostDoc U. Wisconsin Auditory neurophysiology. Retired 2008 Charles Ribak, PhD, Boston University PostDoc City of Hope Inhibitory neurons and epilepsy Retired, 2010 Martine J. RoBards, PhD, Florida State University PostDoc U. Virginia Somatosensory system Left UCI, 1981 Richard T Robertson, PhD, UC Irvine PostDoc, University of Oslo, Norway Mechanisms of cerebral cortical development Retired, 2015 Joint appointee: Herbert Killackey, PhD, Duke University Development of somatosensory system Retired, 2013 Edward Jones, Chair 1984-1993 Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, for Systems and Molecular Neurobiology Department of Anatomy Acting Chair Dearden, with the full support of College of Medicine and the campus, undertook an international search for a new chair in 1983. That search was quite successful, leading to the recruitment of Edward G. Jones (MD, University of Otago; PhD, Oxford University) from Washington University in 1984. “Ted” Jones was widely regarded as one of the leading neuroanatomists among the global neuroscience community, and his recruitment was viewed quite favorably by the campus and the College of Medicine. Among Dr. Jones’s goals for the department was to support the already strong research in systems neurobiology by encouraging growth in the emerging field of molecular neurobiology. That effort was reflected in Dr. Jones’s recruitment of Stewart H.C. Hendry, PhD, (plasticity of visual cortex), Martin A. Smith, PhD, (plasticity of peripheral cholinergic systems), Anne L. Calof, PhD, (genetic regulation of neural development) and Ivan Soltesz, PhD, (hippocampal plasticity and epilepsy). Hendry later left UCI to take a faculty position at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Jones added to the department's faculty expertise with joint appointments of W. Ian Lipkin, MD, (neuroimmunology), John H. Weiss, MD, PhD, (mechanisms of neural degeneration) and Frances M. Leslie, PhD, (neuropharmacology). The academic field of anatomy, while respected, is not among the fields widely seen as on the leading edge of scientific advancement. Dr. Jones set about to modernize the department’s name to Anatomy & Neurobiology, to more accurately reflect the scientific expertise of the department faculty. At a campus widely known for its neuroscience expertise, and with the use of the term “neurobiology” in other venues, this proposed change in department name met with considerable resistance from other research groups on campus. However, with Dr. Jones’s typical perseverance, the change was eventually approved by campus administration and continues today. Dr. Jones was a strong supporter of graduate education and, along with Vice Chair and Graduate Advisor Robertson, they established the tradition of “Grad Day” in 1986 in which all graduate students have the opportunity to present their research topics to the larger department. Dr. Jones stepped down from the position as chair in 1993 and then relocated to lead the neuroscience program at UC Davis in 1998. Department Faculty, 1986 Front row, from left: Len Kitzes, Chris Gall, Ted Jones (chair), Lyle Dearden. Second row, from left: Herb Killackey, John Swett, Rick Robertson, Jim Fallon, Roland Giolli, Chuck Ribak (not pictured, Earle Davis) Primary appointee: Edward G. Jones, MD (U. Otago, New Zealand) PhD Oxford University (England) Neural plasticity and molecular neurobiology Relocated to UC Davis Director of Neuroscience, 1998 Anne L. Calof , PhD, UCSF PostDoc, Columbia University Genetic regulation of neural development. Stewart H.C. Hendry, PhD, Washington University Plasticity of visual system Relocated to Johns Hopkins Medical School, 1996 Martin A. Smith, PhD, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (England) PostDocs at UC San Diego and Stanford University Molecular neurobiology Retired 2013 Ivan Soltesz, PhD, Eotvos University (Hungary) PostDoc Stanford University Hippocampal plasticity and epilepsy Relocated to Stanford University in 2015 Joints appointees W. Ian Lipkin, MD, Rush Medical College Residency UCSF Neurovirology Diane K. O’Dowd, PhD, UC San Diego PostDoc, Stanford University Neuronal Plasticity in Drosophila Improvement of Science education Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, UCI John H. Weiss, MD, PhD, Stanford University Mechanisms of neural degeneration, Alzheimer’s, ALS Frances Leslie, PhD, University of Aberdeen (Scotland) PostDoc, Stanford University Currently Vice Provost for Graduate Education Neuropharmacology. Richard Robertson, Chair, 1993-2003 Establishment of Reeve-Irvine Center for Spinal Cord Injury Research Richard Robertson, who had served for several years as Vice Chair of the department, was appointed as Chair in 1993 to replace Dr. Jones. The mid to late 1990’s was a time of budget cuts and restricted faculty growth. Dr. Robertson sought cooperative opportunities and joined in the recruitment of Oswald Steward, PhD to head the newly established Reeve-Irvine Center for Spinal Cord Injury Research. Dr. Steward was recruited from the University of Virginia, where he served as Chair of the Department of Neuroscience. Dr. Steward was widely recognized for his work in regulation of gene expression in the nervous system and on plasticity of hippocampal systems. His expertise in these two fields were seen as ideal for leading the effort to understand the pathology of spinal cord injury and the development of therapeutic measures. After his appointment as Center Director, Drs. Steward and Robertson collaborated on the recruitment of Hans Keirstead PhD (regeneration of axons following spinal cord injury) and Aileen Anderson PhD (role of immune system and glial cells in response to injury) to join the Reeve-Irvine Center and the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology. Also at this time, Ji-ying Sze, PhD (who studied C. elegans as a model system for neuroplasticity) was recruited from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Sze later left UCI to take a position at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine. In an effort to relieve some of the teaching load for the very demanding Human Gross Anatomy course, Dr. Robertson obtained funding from the SoM Dean’s office to recruit Dr. Robert Leonard to direct the Gross Anatomy course and devote his full efforts to the teaching mission. Dr. Robertson added to the breadth of faculty expertise by the joint appointments of Mark Fisher, MD, (Professor and Chair of Neurology, and expert in cerebral vascular biology), Fan-Gang Zeng, PhD (Professor of Otolaryngology, studying cochlear implants), Tallie Z. Baram, MD, PhD (Professor of Pediatrics and of Neurology, studying the role of early stress on seizure activity), Steven Schreiber, MD, (Neurology; neurodegenerative diseases), and David Felten, MD, PhD (Director of the Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine; neuroimmunology). Dr. Felten soon left UCI to take an administrative position at Seton Hall University. Primary appointee: David Felten MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania Neuroimmunology; Director Susan Samueli Center Relocated to Seton Hall University 2002 Hans Keirstead PhD, U. British Columbia PostDoc Cambridge University, England. Spinal cord injury repair, stem cell biology Relocated to private biotech 2003 Robert Leonard, PhD, University of Minnesota Human gross anatomy teaching Retired 2005 Oswald Steward, PhD, UC Irvine Plasticity of gene expression, spinal cord injury repair Director, Reeve-Irvine Research Center Ji-Ying Sze, PhD, Purdue University Postdoc Harvard Medical School C. elegans neurobiology Relocated to Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 2005 Joints appointees Aileen Anderson, PhD, UC Irvine PostDoc, Harvard University Neuroimmunology, stem cell biology Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Currently Director of UCI Stem Cell Center Tallie Z. Baram, MD, University of Miami PhD, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel Shepard Chair in Neurosciences Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology Stress and neural development Mark Fisher, MD, University of Cincinnati Professor of Neurology Endothelial cell biology, stroke Ranjan Gupta, MD, Albany Medical College Residency, University of Pennsylvania Peripheral nerve injury and repair Steven Schreiber, MD, Albany Medical College Professor of Neurology Mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease Fan-Gang Zeng, Ph.D, Syracuse University Professor of Otolaryngology Sensory coding in normal and impaired auditory systems Department Faculty, 1995 Front row, from left: Earle Davis, Tallie Baram, Roland Giolli, Lenard Kitzes Second row, from left: Anne Calof, Chris Gall, Rick Robertson, Chuck Ribak Back row, from left: Ivan Soltesz, Martin Smith, Ted Jones, Jim Fallon, John Weiss, Ian Lipkin, Diane O’Dowd, Bob Blanks Leonard Kitzes, Acting Chair 2004-2006 Dr. Robertson stepped down from the position as Chair in 2003 to return to his research laboratory; the Dean’s office appointed Dr. Leonard Kitzes as Acting Chair in 2004. Dr. Kitzes was successful in recruiting David Lyon, PhD (visual system plasticity) from the Salk Institute to become Assistant Professor at UCI. Primary appointee: David Lyon, PhD, Vanderbilt University Post Doc, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Salk Institue Structure and function of visual system Ivan Soltesz, Chair 2007-2015 A national search for a new department Chair was undertaken, and culminated in the appointment of Dr. Ivan Soltesz as Chair in 2007. Dr. Soltesz had established himself as an international leader in the field of hippocampal neurobiology of normal brain and how alterations in physiology and circuitry lead to production of seizures in the epileptic brain. As part of the package provided to Dr. Soltesz for taking on the duties of department Chair, he was given the opportunity to recruit several new faculty members. The first of these was Xiangmin Xu, PhD (cortical plasticity) recruited from a postdoctoral position at the Salk Institute to become Assistant Professor. Later, Dr. Soltesz recruited Robert Hunt, PhD, (disorders of cortical development) from his postdoctoral position at UC San. Francisco, and Kei Igarashi, PhD (sensory neural mechanism in learning and memory) from his postdoctoral position with the Nobel Prize winning Mosers from Norway. Recognizing the unusually difficult challenge of teaching the field of Human Gross Anatomy, Dr. Soltesz devoted one faculty position to recruit Dr. Jamie Wikenheiser from UCLA to head UCI’s Gross Anatomy program. In addition, Dr. Soltesz was able to facilitate some local transfers of faculty into the department, including Danielle Piomelli, PhD (nationally recognized leader in cannabinoid research) and David Reinkensmeyer, PhD (use of robotics to facilitate recovery from stroke in humans). As part of the recruitment of a new Chair for the Department of Neurology, Dr. Soltesz welcomed Ana Solodkin, PhD (human brain fMRI imaging and plasticity) to the department. Also, Dr. Soltesz made several joint appointments to the department, including Gary Lynch, PhD (Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, cellular mechanisms of neural plasticity), Fred Ehlert, PhD (Pharmacology of muscarinic receptors), Brian Cummings, PhD (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mechanisms of spinal cord injury recovery) and Lisa Flanagan, PhD (Neurology, bioengineering of stem cells and the role of extracellular matrix molecules on axonal growth after injury). Dr. Soltesz stepped down from his position as Chair in 2015, when he was recruited to a named Professorship in Neurosurgery at Stanford University. Primary appointees Xiangmin Xu, PhD, Vanderbilt University Postdoc, The Salk Institute Neural circuitry in learning and memory disorders, mechanisms of epilepsy Danielle Piomelli, PhD, Columbia University PostDoc, Rockefeller University Functions of endocannabinoid system David Reinkensmeyer, PhD, UC Berkeley Robotics and recovery from neurological injury Jamie Wikenheiser, PhD, Case Western Reserve University Director of Gross Anatomy curriculum Robert Hunt, PhD, University of Kentucky Post Doc, UC San Francisco Disorders of cortical development, mechanisms of epilepsy Kei Igarashi, PhD, University of Tokyo Post doc, Norwegian University of Science and Technology Sensory systems and mechanisms of memory Joint appointees Alan Goldin, MD, PhD, University of Michigan Professor of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, UCI SoM Ion channels in epilepsy and other disorders Brian Cummings, PhD, UC Irvine Mechanisms of spinal cord injury recovery; stem cell biology Professor and Vice Chair for research, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Gary Lynch, PhD, Princeton University Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry Disorders of learning and memory Lisa Flanagan, PhD, University of California, San Diego Associate Professor of Neurology Neural stem cells, Bioengineering Christine Gall, Chair 2015-present The Dean’s office launched a national search to identify the next department chair, which resulted in the naming of Christine Gall as Chair of Anatomy & Neurobiology. With her extensive experience with the department and her meteoric rise through the academic ranks, Dr. Gall quickly commenced the search for new faculty. Working on behalf of the department along with collaborative efforts with the Gross Stem Cell Center and the EpiCenter, Dr. Gall has been successful in several recruiting efforts, including Lulu Chen PhD (molecular mechanisms of neural plasticity) from Stanford University, Momoko Watanabe (mechanisms of neural development in organoids) from UCLA, Javier Diaz Alonso (mechanisms of synaptic plasticity) from UC San Francisco, and Laura Ewell (Memory and Epilepsy) from the University of Bonn, Germany. Primary appointees: Lulu Chen, PhD, UC Irvine PostDoc Stanford University Synapse development and maintenance in neurological disease Javier Diaz Alonso, PhD, Universidad Complutense, Madrid PostDoc UC San Francisco Mechanisms of synapse organization and plasticity in normal and pathological brain Momoko Watanabe, PhD, UC Irvine PostDoc Riken Institute, Japan, UC Los Angeles Mechanisms of neural development studied in organoids Laura Ewell, PhD, University of Wisconsin, Madison PostDoc UC San Diego, Group Leader at Universitat Bonn Memory and epilepsy Joint appointee: Andre Obenaus, PhD, University of British Columbia Cerebral vasculature in traumatic brain injury Magdalene Seiler, PhD, Max Planck-Institute for Psychiatry, Munich Retinal degeneration, stem cells, transplantation, trophic factors Written and Copyright, Richard Robertson, Ph.D.