Lecture by Dr. Tom Parks, Professor, The Brain Institute

Recorded: July 21, 2010

Dr. Thomas N. Parks, professor of neurobiology and anatomy at The Brain Institute of the University of Utah and faculty member for 32 years, was named vice president for research in June of 2008. Dr. Parks earned his undergraduate degree in biology from the University of California at Irvine, followed by his doctorate in psychobiology from Yale University. In 1986, Dr. Parks co-founded NPS Pharmaceuticals and served on its board until 2006. Besides his administrative duties, Dr. Parks is currently researching the neurobiology and genetics of processing disorders in human hearing.

Dr. Parks discussed the depth and breadth of the University’s research programs which secures over $350 million annually in public and private research grants and contracts. The excellence of the research conducted at Utah is verified by the fact that the U was recognized as one of the top 100 research universities out of 1,200 in the world by the World Ranking of Academic Universities. Dr. Parks also highlighted a number of examples from programs that are without peer world-wide.