Duke Institute for Brain Sciences Dream Teams

Deadline: October 13, 2025 (letter of intent). The purpose of the Germinator Awards is to provide seed funding to support graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in their interdisciplinary, innovative brain science research within Duke.

The richness of Duke’s intellectual communities and its deep commitment to interdisciplinarity are major draws for top scholars who are leaders in their fields. Nine of these academic stars share why they came to Duke and why they stay.

Part of the Duke community since 2010, Sommer begins serving as director of DIBS on January 1, following the interim directorship of Alison Adcock, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.