Tom Harkin: “today I want to recognize a truly exceptional public servant, Dr. Story Landis, who is retiring in a few weeks from the…”

“today I want to recognize a truly exceptional public servant, Dr. Story Landis, who is retiring in a few weeks from the directorship of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health. I have been fortunate to get to know Dr. Landis during her 11 years as Institute Director. She has testified several times before the committees I chair, the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, always with the poise of a leader at a prestigious national institution, the rigor of a renowned scientist, and the insight of a truly extraordinary pioneer working on the frontiers of our knowledge of the human brain. Certainly, Dr. Landis has an exemplary pedigree. A graduate of Wellesley College and Harvard University, Dr. Landis came to NIH in 1995 as NINDS Scientific Director, following a distinguished career as a neuroscience researcher and chair of the Neuroscience Department at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. As scientific director, she had the bold vision to stimulate collaborations in brain research across labs from different institutes on the NIH campus and led the planning for a unique national neuroscience research center at NIH. From the time Dr. Landis became NINDS Director in 2003, she worked with me, with the late Senator Spector, and with other NIH Institute Directors to make this center a reality.…”