Hogan leaving VUMC to head Duke program
Brigid L. M. Hogan, Ph.D., professor of Cell Biology, Hortense B. Ingram Chair of Molecular Oncology, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, is leaving Vanderbilt in December to head the department of Cell Biology at Duke University Medical Center.
Hogan, who has been at Vanderbilt for 13 years, is considered a pioneer in identifying how genes function in the developing mouse embryo. She is also a highly respected national spokesperson on issues concerning stem cell biology, embryo manipulation, and cloning.
Since coming to Vanderbilt, Hogan has played a major role in establishing an integrated research base in stem cell biology and embryogenesis. Last fall Hogan founded the Stem Cell and Organogenesis Program, a research effort open to investigators interested in any type of stem cells or the processes of tissue and organ formation, regardless of the model organism studied.
Hogan intends to continue her leadership in the field in her new position at Duke, where she hopes to build a bridge between cell biology and developmental biology and to expand the stem cell research program in mice as a model for human disease. In accepting the position, she will become the first woman to chair a basic sciences department in the history of Duke’s medical center.
Dr. Steven G. Gabbe, dean of the School of Medicine, recognizes the opportunity that the move represents for Hogan and appreciates the legacy of success she leaves behind.
“Our faculty members are among the most outstanding in the country,” Gabbe said. “For that reason, it’s not surprising that other institutions would want to recruit them. Brigid Hogan is one of those faculty members.”
“We encourage and support professional development of our faculty and are always pleased when opportunities for greater growth arise,” he continued. “Brigid has been integral to the expansion of the cell and developmental biology program here at Vanderbilt and we wish her well in her continued research efforts at Duke.”
Hogan regards her time spent at Vanderbilt as a high point in her professional life and has praise for the support and inspiration she found here.
“My years at Vanderbilt have been the most productive and exciting of my career,” she said. “I have benefited greatly from the generosity and support of many people, in particular Ike Robinson and Hal Moses who recruited me here, the Ingram family, and many senior faculty and colleagues who have given me encouragement and advice.
“Perhaps my richest sustenance has come from the students and postdocs who have worked with me before going on to successful independent careers. The developmental program will continue to flourish here under the guidance of Chris Wright and Susan Wente, and I look forward to continued collaborations and exchange of ideas”
Before joining the Vanderbilt faculty in 1988, Hogan was head of the Laboratory of Molecular Embryology — first at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and then at the National Institute of Medical Research in London. In 2001 she was elected to the esteemed Fellowship of the Royal Society; she is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization, the Institute of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.