MIT Professor Li-Huei Tsai to Step Down as Picower Institute Director

Tsai will refocus on research and teaching after 16 years leading the renowned neuroscience institute.

Mar. 21, 2026 at 12:02am

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MIT Picower Professor Li-Huei Tsai, who has led The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory since 2009, will step down from her role as director at the end of the academic year in May. Tsai plans to focus exclusively on her academic work, including continued leadership of MIT's Aging Brain Initiative and the Alana Down Syndrome Center. The search for the Picower Institute's next director has begun.

Why it matters

Under Tsai's leadership over the past 16 years, the Picower Institute has grown substantially, expanding its faculty and research capabilities. Tsai has been instrumental in advancing neuroscience research, particularly in the fight against Alzheimer's disease, and in launching important campus-wide initiatives like the Aging Brain Initiative and the Alana Down Syndrome Center.

The details

When Tsai became director in 2009, the Picower Institute had 11 labs and around 200 members. Over the years, she worked closely with the Picowers' foundation to develop programs to support junior faculty, catalyze more private grant funding, and sustain fellowships. Under her leadership, the institute has grown to 16 labs and around 400 scientists, students, and staff. Tsai's own research has also expanded, leading to numerous discoveries about the neurobiology of Alzheimer's disease and the development of potential therapeutic strategies, including one now in a national phase III clinical trial.

  • Tsai became director of the Picower Institute in July 2009.
  • Tsai will step down as director at the end of the academic year in May 2026.

The players

Li-Huei Tsai

A professor in MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and a member of The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, who has led The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory since 2009.

Nergis Mavalvala

The dean of the MIT School of Science and the Curtis and Kathleen Marble professor of astrophysics, who will oversee the search for the Picower Institute's next director.

Sherman Fairchild Professor Matthew Wilson

The associate director of the Picower Institute, who will lead the committee to identify and interview candidates for the next director.

Susumu Tonegawa

The founder of the Picower Institute, originally named the Center for Learning and Memory, in 1994.

Mark Bear

A Picower Professor and former director of the Picower Institute, who will serve on the committee to find the next director.

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What they’re saying

“During her exceptional 16-year tenure in the role of director, Li-Huei has led substantial growth at the Picower Institute. She has markedly expanded the faculty - eight of the current 16 labs joined Picower under her directorship - through successful recruitment of highly talented neuroscientists. She has done this, and more, all while leading one of our most productive and influential labs, working on a quintessentially grand challenge in human health: combating Alzheimer's disease.”

— Nergis Mavalvala, Dean of the MIT School of Science and the Curtis and Kathleen Marble professor of astrophysics

“I'm immensely proud of what our institute represents: world-renowned neuroscience research that is creative, rigorous, novel, and impactful. Our labs produce innovations, discoveries, and often translational strategies that have broken new ground and pushed science, medicine, and technology forward. We also provide excellent training that has enabled us to launch the careers of many of the field's new and future leaders. It has been a tremendous honor to be able to build on the incredible foundation and inspiration provided by my predecessors Susumu Tonegawa and Mark Bear to enable the institute's growth and success.”

— Li-Huei Tsai

“After 16 years leading the Picower Institute, I'm now eager to sharpen my focus on advancing human health through the work in my lab, the Aging Brain Initiative, and the Alana Center.”

— Li-Huei Tsai

What’s next

The search committee led by Matthew Wilson will identify and interview candidates for the Picower Institute's next director, with the goal of providing a report to Nergis Mavalvala later this spring.

The takeaway

Tsai's decision to step down as director of the Picower Institute after 16 years of exceptional leadership will allow her to refocus on her groundbreaking research on Alzheimer's disease and other critical initiatives at MIT. Her tenure has transformed the institute into a preeminent center for neuroscience, and the search for her successor will be crucial in ensuring the institute's continued success and impact.