The Brain Health Research Institute Is Helping Transform the Culture of Kent State

The Brain Health Research Institute (BHRI) may be a recent development at Kent State, but with fresh leadership, emerging partnerships and a refined vision, it’s well on its way to gaining national renown.

“The Brain Health Research Institute marks a major turning point in the history of Kent State as a research university,” President Todd Diacon said.

In February, Lehman convened the first BHRI faculty retreat, where Kent State researchers discussed and summarized ideas about Kent State’s strengths and opportunities in brain health.

Lehman brought those ideas to the BHRI Executive Committee, which concentrated them into three “themes” of research focus, each encompassing various related specialties: brain basis of emotion and cognition, brain control of movement and sensation and neuroendocrine brain.

As the BHRI grows, Lehman wants to attract researchers with track records of interdisciplinary work who may not fit under traditional departmental labels.

Developing new programming and forging relationships is only the beginning, though, and many challenges remain.

Read the full article in the 2019 Kent State Research Review Magazine