John Ngai, PhD, Federal Liaison

Dr. John J. Ngai is the Director of the NIH’s Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies®(BRAIN) Initiative, where he oversees the long-term strategy and day-to-day operations of the NIH BRAIN Initiative as it strives to revolutionize our understanding of the brain in health and disease. He was a postdoctoral researcher at Caltech and the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons before starting a faculty position at the University of California at Berkeley. During more than 25 years as a Berkeley faculty member, Dr. Ngai has trained 20 undergraduate students, 24 graduate students and 15 postdoctoral fellows in addition to teaching well over 1,000 students in the classroom. His work has led to publications in the field’s most prestigious journals as well as numerous U.S. and international patents.

Dr. Ngai has received many awards including from the Sloan Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, and McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience. He has provided extensive service on NIH study sections, councils and steering groups, including as previous co-chair of the NIH BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Consortium Steering Group. Dr. Ngai earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology from Pomona College, Claremont, California, and PhD in biology from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena.