Researcher: Sven Dorkenwald

Two McGovern faculty appointed to named professorships at MIT

by Julie Pryor |

MIT has appointed McGovern faculty members Sven Dorkenwald and Josh McDermott to named professorships that will provide additional support for their “outstanding research and educational careers.” Named professorships at MIT are prestigious endowed faculty chairs that provide crucial financial support for both junior faculty and senior scholars, enabling them to pursue bold research and global challenges.

Dorkenwald, who recently joined MIT as an assistant professor of brain and cognitive sciences and an investigator at the McGovern Institute, has been selected to hold the  Silverman (1968) Family Career Development Professorship for a three-year term beginning July 1, 2026. A trailblazer in the field of computational neuroscience, Dorkenwald reconstructs maps of neuronal circuits to investigate how they support complex computations. He is recognized for his leadership in connectomics—an emerging discipline focused on reconstructing and analyzing neural circuitry at unprecedented scale and detail. Jeffrey Silverman ’68 is a life member emeritus of the MIT Corporation. His generous gift to the institute empowers early career professors to pursue high-risk research. 

McDermott, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences and an associate investigator at the McGovern Institute, has been selected to hold the Uncas (1923) and Helen Whitaker Professorship for a five-year renewable term beginning July 1, 2026. McDermott’s research operates at the intersection of psychology, neuroscience, and engineering to study how people hear and interpret sound. Groundbreaking discoveries from the McDermott lab are informing new treatments for hearing loss, and paving the way for machine systems that emulate the human ability to recognize and interpret sound. The Uncas (1923) and Helen Whitaker Professorship chair was established in 1980 through a gift from the late Helen Whitaker, the first woman elected to life membership of the MIT Corporation. It is designed to support distinguished faculty whose work spans multiple disciplines to solve complex, real-world problems. 

 

MIT Scientists Sven Dorkenwald and Whitney Henry named 2026 Searle Scholars

by Julie Pryor |

MIT scientists Sven Dorkenwald and Whitney Henry have been named 2026 Searle Scholars, an award given annually to 15 exceptional early-career researchers in the fields of biomedical sciences and chemistry. Chosen by a scientific advisory board, Searle Scholars are considered among the most creative young researchers pursuing high-risk/high-reward research. The Searle Scholars Program is funded through the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust and administered by Kinship Foundation.

Dorkenwald is an assistant professor of brain and cognitive sciences and an investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research. Henry is the Robert A. Swanson (1969) Career Development Professor of Life Sciences and an intramural faculty member at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. They will each receive $450,000 in flexible funding to support their work over the next three years.

Sven Dorkenwald

Sven Dorkenwald is a computational neuroscientist investigating the organizational principles of neuronal circuits. The synaptic connectivity of neurons, their connectome, is fundamental to how networks of neurons function. Dorkenwald develops computational and collaborative tools to map, analyze, and interpret synapse-resolution connectomes. His work has led to large connectomic reconstructions of the fruit fly brain and parts of mammalian brains. He uses these connectomes to investigate the architecture of neuronal circuits and how their structure supports complex computations.

“As I establish my new lab, the Searle Scholars Award will help us launch ambitious projects and set our long-term scientific direction,” said Dorkenwald. “I am deeply grateful for the support from the Kinship Foundation and look forward to interacting with this amazing cohort of Searle Scholars.”

Dorkenwald joined the faculty of MIT in 2026 as an assistant professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and an investigator at the McGovern Institute. He earned a BS in physics and an MS in computer engineering from the University of Heidelberg, followed by a PhD in computer science and neuroscience at Princeton University in 2023 under the mentorship of Sebastian Seung and Mala Murthy. Dorkenwald completed his postdoctoral training as a Shanahan Research Fellow at the Allen Institute and the University of Washington, while serving as a Visiting Faculty Researcher at Google Research.

Whitney Henry

Whitney Henry investigates the potential of ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of cell death, for developing novel therapies that target subpopulations of cancer cells that are highly metastatic, therapy-resistant, and therefore critical instigators of tumor relapse. Her research is focused on uncovering the molecular factors influencing ferroptosis susceptibility, investigating its effects on the tumor microenvironment, and developing innovative methods to manipulate ferroptosis resistance in living organisms, drawing from functional genomics, metabolomics, bioengineering, and a range of in vitro and in vivo models.

“I am incredibly grateful to the Kinship Foundation for supporting our research and giving us the freedom to ask bold, curiosity-driven scientific questions,” said Henry. “This support allows us to pursue ambitious ideas, take creative risks, and embark on new research directions.”

Henry joined the MIT faculty in 2024 as an assistant professor in the Department of Biology and a member of the Koch Institute, and is currently an HHMI Freeman Hrabowski Scholar. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry from Grambling State University and her PhD from Harvard University. Following her doctoral studies, she worked in the lab of Robert Weinberg at the Whitehead Institute and was supported by fellowships from the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research and the Ludwig Center at MIT.

Sven Dorkenwald

Synapse-resolution connectomics

The synaptic connectivity of neurons, their connectome, is fundamental to how networks of neurons function. Sven Dorkenwald develops computational and collaborative tools to map, analyze, and interpret synapse-resolution connectomes. His work has led to large connectomic reconstructions of the fruit fly brain and parts of mammalian brains. He uses these connectomes to investigate how neuronal circuits are organized and how their structure supports complex computations.