Proposed School of Neuroscience hires first faculty member, Michael Bowers
February 3, 2016
Virginia Tech’s proposed School of Neuroscience has hired its first faculty member, J. Michael Bowers, who joins the university as an assistant professor.
Bowers previously was at the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine in Baltimore, where he served as a postdoctoral fellow with its neuroscience program. There, he made a novel discovery of a sex difference in the expression of a gene known to be involved in language and brain development. The characteristic was found in both humans and rats, said Bowers.
Bowers earned dual bachelor’s degrees in psychology and biology from Oklahoma State University; a master’s degree in linguistics from the University of New Mexico; and a doctorate in psychology from Oklahoma State University. After graduating with his Ph.D., Bowers switched to animal-centered research from human-based research while at the University of Maryland.