In 2000, Patrick J. McGovern ’59 and lore Harp McGovern made an extraordinary gift to establish the McGovern Institute at MIT, driven by their deep curiosity towards their belief in the human mind and the power of life-changing science. Their $350 million pledge began with a simple yet bold vision. Understanding the human brain in all its complexities and using that understanding to improve humanity.
Twenty-five years later, the McGovern Institute exists as evidence of the power of interdisciplinary collaboration, shaping brain understanding and improving the quality of life for people around the world.
McGovern at 25
Video: McGovern Institute
The first
“This is a truly historic moment for MIT anyway,” said Charles M. Best, the 15th president of MIT, in his opening remarks at the 2000 event, to celebrate the McGovern gift agreement. “The creation of the McGovern Institute will certainly be the basis for MIT scientific contributions in the coming decades, launching one of the most profound and important scientific ventures of the century.”
Tap on MIT Institute biology and Nobel Prize winner, MIT Institute professor Philip A. Sharp, and head the Institute, six MIT professors, Emilio Bizzi, Martha Constantine Paton, and Anne Graviel Ph.D. 71, H. Robert Horvitz ’68, Nancy Kanwisher ’80, Phd ’86, Faculty. Construction began in 2003 at Building 46, a 376,000-square-foot research facility located at the northeastern end of the campus. MIT’s new “Gateway from the North” will ultimately house the McGovern Institute, the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, and the MIT’s Faculty of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.
Patrick J. McGovern ’59 (5th from the right) and Lore Harp McGovern (Patrick’s Right) meet with the founders and the MIT administration on the groundbreaking stage of Building 46 in 2003.
Photo: Donna Coveny
Robert Desimone, professor of Domberkey neuroscience at MIT, took over Sharp as director of the McGovern Institute in 2005, gathering a well-known roster of 22 faculty members.
A quarter century of innovation
On April 11, 2025, the McGovern Institute celebrated its 25th anniversary with a half-day symposium featuring presentations by Professor Robert Langer, MIT Institute, alumni of various McGovern Labs, and Professor Desimone, who is in his 20th year as Director of the Institute.
Desimone highlighted the institute’s recent discoveries, including the development of the CRISPR genome editing system, which reached its peak with the world’s first CRISPR gene therapy approved for humans. In other milestones, McGovern researchers developed the first prosthetic limbs that are completely controlled by the body’s nervous system. A flexible probe that utilizes gut brain communication. Extended microscopy paves the way for biology labs around the world to perform nanoscale imaging. And an advanced computational model that shows how we see, listen, use language and think about what others are thinking. Equally transformative is the study in neuroimaging at the McGovern Institute, which uncovers the architecture of human thinking and establishes markers for the early emergence of mental illness before symptoms appear.
The McGovern community will gather in the shape of No. 25 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the McGovern Institute.
Photo: Steph Stevens
Synergistic effects and open science
“We often get asked what makes us different from other neuroscience institutions and programs around the world,” says Desimone. “My answer is simple. At McGovernInstitute, the whole thing is bigger than the sum of that portion.”
Many discoveries at the McGovern Institute rely on collaboration across multiple labs, ranging from bioengineering to human brain imaging and artificial intelligence. In modern brain research, significant advancements often require the collaborative expertise of people working in neurophysiology, behavioral, computational analysis, neuroanatomy, and molecular biology. More than a dozen MIT departments are represented by McGovern faculty and graduate students, and this synergy has led to much greater insights and innovation than a single discipline can achieve on its own.
Also, what is burned into McGovern Ethos is the spirit of open science, where newly developed technologies are shared with colleagues around the world. For example, through hospital partnerships, McGovern researchers are testing tools and therapeutic interventions in clinical settings, accelerating discoveries into real-world solutions.
Professor Nancy Kanwisher (center) Three of the three scientific “children”: (left to right) Everina Federenko, Josh McDermott and Rebecca Sachs.
Photo: Steph Stevens
McGovern’s Legacy
Hundreds of scientific papers have emerged from the McGovern Lab over the past 25 years, but most faculty members will argue that it is the people who truly define the McGovern Institute. While award-winning faculty often attract the brightest young minds, many McGovern faculty also serve as mentors, creating a diverse and vibrant scientific community that sets global standards for brain research and its applications. Kanwisher, for example, led more than 70 doctoral students and postdocs who went to become leading scientists around the world. Three of her former students, Evelina Federenko, Josh McDermott, ’06, and Dr. Rebecca Sachs, ’03, and Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, are now colleagues at the McGan Institute. Other McGovern alumni shared stories of mentorship, science and real-world influence at the 25th anniversary symposium.
Looking to the future, the McGovern community is more committed than ever to unlocking brain mysteries and making meaningful differences in individuals’ lives on a global scale.
“By promoting partnerships of team science, open communication and discipline,” said Institute co-founder Lore Harp McGovern.
