In 2012, the McKnight Brain Research Foundation endowed the University of Florida with $300,000 to establish a permanent annual lectureship as a memorial tribute to the late William G. “Bill” Luttge, Ph.D., the first director of UF’s Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute (MBI). To be held each year, the William G. Luttge Lectureship in Neuroscience will explore inventive ideas and approaches to ensure healthy cognitive aging and to counter brain diseases.

Luttge spearheaded efforts to organize the vast amount of brain research conducted at the University of Florida into a comprehensive program, eventually resulting in the establishment of the $60 million Brain Institute on the UF Health Science Center campus in Gainesville that was dedicated in 1998. He passed away March 24, 2012, after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

Past Luttge Memorial Lectures

	2019: George Koob, Ph.D. — “Alcohol and Drug Addiction: The Gain in the Brain is in the Pain” Newsroom ArticleDr. Koob’s Current Affiliation         Seminar Flyer
	2018: Michela Gallagher, Ph.D. — “Contributions of neurocognitive aging to risk or resilience” Newsroom Article          Dr. Gallagher’s Current Affiliation         Seminar Flyer
	2017: James L. McGaugh, Ph.D. — “Making lasting memories” Newsroom Article     Dr. McGaugh’s Current Affiliation     Seminar Flyer
	2016: Carol A. Barnes, Ph.D. — “Aging is not a disease: normal lifespan changes in brain circuits critical for memory” Newsroom Article     Dr. Barnes’s Current Affiliation     Seminar Flyer
	2015: Fred H. Gage, PhD – “Neuronal Plasticity and Genomic Diversity” Newsroom Article     Dr. Gage’s Current Affiliation     Seminar Flyer
	2014: Steven T. DeKosky, MD – “The Brain Fights Back: Neuroplasticity in Aging and Disease” Newsroom Article     Dr. DeKosky’s Current Affiliation     Seminar Flyer
	2013 Inaugural Lecture: Paul E. Gold, PhD – “Making Memories Metabolic – and Making Metabolic Memories (PDF)” Newsroom Article     Dr. Gold’s Current Affiliation     Seminar Flyer