Gill Center for Biomolecular Science: Indiana University Bloomington

Interdisciplinary approach + Innovation + Collaboration = The Gill Center

The Gill Center for Biomolecular Science at Indiana University provides the field of neuroscience with a unique platform for innovation. Powered by the extraordinary vision and commitment of Linda and Jack Gill, together with the College of Arts + Sciences, the Gill Center brings together world-class scientists and state-of-the-art facilities in an atmosphere of unimpeded experimentation. The result is real and rapid progress on understanding issues such as pain, addiction, stress, and dementia. The Gill Chairs, recruited from outside the university in order to promote the expansion of IU’s neuroscience community, are selected not only for their individual records of excellence, but also for their ability to contribute to and influence ongoing center research.

Meet the Gill chairs and faculty

Together, we’re better!

Putting leading neuroscientists with different backgrounds in close proximity allows for incredible intellectual exchanges. We have purposefully built a group with both shared values and complementary approaches, so the work we do together goes beyond what any researcher could accomplish alone. These shared values center on a commitment to improving lives by uncovering the core processes of the nervous system. We don’t just want to see what goes wrong in the nervous system. We’re committed to understanding at a fundamental level how the system works and how we can support it.

Learn more about our research

Event announcements

2022 Gill Symposium & Awards

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

8 a.m.—7 p.m.

The Gill Symposium invites prominent neuroscientists to the IUB campus for lectures and meetings with trainees and faculty.

View more events

Featured news

Can cannabinoids unlock a better understanding of our bodies and brains?

Discover Magazine—February 1, 2022

When neuroscientists began to investigate the chemical effects of marijuana, they stumbled upon a natural system that is present in all humans, regardless of their propensity for pot smoking. According to Dr. Hui-Chen Lu, Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences, and Director of the Gill Center at Indiana University Bloomington, "There's very clear evidence that running produces more endogenous cannabinoids [than marijuana]."

Q&A with Dan Tracey

Current Biology—January 24, 2022 (Volume 32, Issue 2)

A Q&A with Dr. Dan Tracey, Gill Chair of Neuroscience and Professor in the Department of Biology at Indiana University Bloomington: Interviewed by Maxine Herman-Oakley Mills. Learn more about Dr. Tracey including what sparked his interest in biology, his fondness for Drosophila and what he thinks he might have done if not for science.

Learn more about Dr. Tracey

Welcome to the compassionate classroom

IU News—November 17, 2021

Working hand-in-hand, a group of faculty and students in the College known as the Kovener Fellows are designing new strategies to make classrooms more welcoming and supporting for all students. Caliel Hines, a senior majoring in Neuroscience, member of the Lu Lab, and a 2019-2020 Kovener Fellow, has worked alongside professors to see their classroom environment through the eyes of a student.

Learn more about the Kovener Fellows

The new study is one of the first to see the potential negative impact of CBD on the developing brain and later behaviors.

Prenatal exposure to THC, CBD affects offspring's responsiveness to fluoxetine

IU NEWS—JUNE 30, 2021

Scientists at IU have found that significant amounts of the two main components of cannabis enter the embryonic brain of mice in utero and impair the mice's ability as adults to respond to fluoxetine - a drug commonly used to treat anxiety and deression.

Undergraduate receives prestigious national award

IU Department of Biology News—April 8, 2021

Indiana University undergraduate Eduardo Duro (Tracey lab) has been named Goldwater scholar for the 2021-22 academic year. The honor recognizes outstanding college sophomores and juniors who show great promise in math, science, or engineering. Congratulations, Eduardo!

Click here to read more about Eduardo's achievement

Methadone research could help babies exposed to opioids in utero

IU News—March 17, 2021

A study by researchers from the IU School of Medicine in Indianapolis and the Gill Center at IU Bloomington found taht in-utero exposure to methadone in mice could negatively affect developmental milestones related to proper functioning of the brain's sensory and motor systems. Findings could lead to new treatment options that reduce long-term damage to human babies from in-utero opioid exposure.