About Us

History and Key Milestones

K. Lisa Yang pictured with Hugh Herr and Ed Boyden who are co-directors of the Center for Bionics.

Our history is marked by discoveries, innovations, and breakthroughs that have expanded scientific understanding and improved lives. Explore the milestones that reflect our enduring commitment to advancing research, fostering collaboration, and driving impact.

  • MARCH
    • Amos Winter named an MIT MacVicar Faculty Fellow
    • Guoping Feng and postdoc Tingting Zhou discover a circuit in mediodorsal thalamus that plays a major role in cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia
  • FEBRUARY
    • Mark Harnett and colleagues demonstrate that neuron-specific error signals resembling machine-learning backpropagation

  • DECEMBER
    • Researchers led by Feng Zhang show they can restore youthful immune function by reprogramming the liver
  • SEPTEMBER
    • K. Lisa Yang Brain Body Center at Harvard launched
  • JUNE
    • Hugh Herr named to the inaugural Forbes Accessibility 100 List
  • MAY
    • K. Lisa Yang named one of TIME Magazine’s Philanthropy 100
    • A team led by John Gabrieli show that a regular mindfulness practice can reduce stress and anxiety for adults with autism
  • FEBRUARY
    • Ila Fiete and colleagues demonstrate a mathematical model that explains how modules emerge without strict genetic instructions
  • JANUARY
    • Feng Zhang awarded National Medal of Technology

  • OCTOBER
    • Magnetoelectric nanodiscs created by the Anikeeva Lab enable wireless, transgene-free neuromodulation
    • GEAR Center engineers create a high-efficiency solar desalination system that makes clean water affordable for remote communities
  • SEPTEMBER
    • Greta Tuckute, Claudia Cea, and Changyang Linghu — all current members or alumni of the Collective — named to MIT Technology Review’s 35 Innovators Under 35
    • Fan Wang’s team discover neural circuits that explain how the placebo effect relieves both acute and chronic pain
  • JULY
    • Polina Anikeeva named head of MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering
    • Herr team restores natural gait and relieves pain through a novel brain-controlled bionic leg
  • JANUARY
    • SHANK3 autism gene therapy receives FDA clearance for clinical testing in pediatric patients
    • K. Lisa Yang Global Engineering and Research (GEAR) Center launched

  • OCTOBER
    • Fan Wang wins her second NIH Pioneer Award
    • Guoping Feng elected to the National Academy of Medicine
  • JUNE
    • Polina Anikeeva’s team creates wireless fiber technology that can probe and manipulate brain-gut circuits with precision

  • NOVEMBER
    • Ila Fiete awarded Swartz Prize for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience
  • AUGUST
    • Ed Boyden and Y Eva Tan Fellow Jinyoung Kang develop an imaging method that uncovers invisible molecular architecture in the brain
  • JUNE
    • Omar Abudayyeh and Jonathan Gootenberg named inaugural recipients of the Termeer Scholars Awards
  • MAY
    • K. Lisa Yang Brain-Body Center at MIT launched

  • OCTOBER
    • K. Lisa Yang Integrative Computational Neuroscience (ICoN) Center launched
  • SEPTEMBER
    • K. Lisa Yang Center For Bionics launched
    • Feng Zhang’s team discovers OMEGA RNA-guided gene-editing systems
  • JULY
    • John Gabrieli awarded the Samuel Torrey Orton Award

  • DECEMBER
    • K. Lisa Yang Post-Baccalaureate Program founded
  • SEPTEMBER
    • K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Center for Molecular Therapeutics in Neuroscience launched
  • MARCH
    • Researchers in Guoping Feng’s lab discover a brain circuit that contributes to sensory hypersensitivity often seen in people with autism

  • OCTOBER
    • Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Center for Autism Research at Harvard launched
  • JULY
    • Ed Boyden awarded the Warren Alpert Foundation Prize
    • Guoping Feng and colleague show that that impairments in the anterior cingulate cortex are linked to altered social interactions in cases of autism

  • MAY
    • Feng Zhang and Ed Boyden named HHMI Investigators
  • MARCH
    • Ed Boyden named inaugural Y. Eva Tan Professor in Neurotechnology

  • DECEMBER
    • J. Douglas Tan Postdoctoral Fellowship Program founded
  • FEBRUARY
    • Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Center for Autism Research at MIT launched