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Joanne Berger-Sweeney, PhD

Administrative Accomplishments

As the 22nd president of Trinity College, I have served as the chief executive officer responsible for leading the strategic vision and management of this highly selective, primarily undergraduate, Carnegie- classified research college. Under my leadership, Trinity has achieved remarkable progress across multiple fronts, including academic and student success and financial stewardship and growth. 

During my 11-year presidency, Trinity increased student retention rates to 91 percent; elevated graduation rates to 86 percent; boosted postgraduation career outcome success rates to 96 percent; improved the College’s U.S. News and World Report ranking from No. 46 to No. 36; increased the quality of the faculty on metrics of diversity and research and scholarly activity; and created innovative external partnerships and initiatives, such as the Center for Arts and ºÚÁÏÉç, the Center for Caribbean Studies, the Entrepreneurship Center, the Liberal Arts Action Lab, and the Trinity Plus curriculum.  

During my tenure as president, the College also showed unprecedented financial growth, including increasing financial aid by 50 percent to enhance student excellence and socioeconomic, racial, and international diversity of the student body; increasing the College’s endowment by 50 percent to approximately $830 million; increasing the College’s net assets by 36 percent to $1 billion; and leading the College’s largest fundraising campaign in history, raising more than $450 million.  

But it is impossible to speak about my leadership skills without noting my expertise in crisis management. I navigated Trinity through several social media and political firestorms and through the COVID-19 pandemic, including a full opening of the College beginning in fall 2020. In recognition of my expertise in crisis management, for the last four years, I have been a faculty member in the Harvard Kennedy School’s Crisis Management course.  

In 2013, regrettably, I closed my neuroscience research laboratory when I was named Trinity’s president because I realized that administration would require a full-time commitment. Before leading Trinity, I served as the dean of Tufts University’s School of Arts and Sciences, the largest school at the institution. I also served as an associate dean at Wellesley College after rising through the ranks to be a tenured, endowed full professor in the Department of Biology. Throughout my administrative career, I have championed STEM diversity and focused on quality through inclusive excellence to ensure that our colleges and universities reflect the broader population of the United States. The ºÚÁÏÉç (SfN) has been a major commitment throughout my academic career, as I have served on several committees and in elected positions over the last 35-plus years.

Degree, Institute, Year Earned

Research Areas

My research can be categorized as both basic and translational, exploring the complex interactions between genetics, neuromodulators, environmental factors, and cognitive behaviors. These studies have contributed to a more nuanced understanding of how the aforementioned factors contribute to normal brain development throughout life as well as, are disrupted in conditions such as autism and Alzheimer’s disease. Specializing in mouse cognitive behavior and learning and memory, I have used multidisciplinary approaches to explore the critical role that cholinergic basal forebrain systems play in normal early postnatal development and abnormalities that ensue when normal cortical development is interrupted. Furthermore, I have explored a variety of therapeutic interventions to reverse abnormalities in diseases as diverse as Rett syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease.

Current Position(s) at Your Current Institution

• President, Trinity College (CT), since 2014. Retiring June 2025, after 11 years of service.

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Service Positions

Editorial Boards:

Other Service Positions:

Science Biography

The focus of my research, on neural mechanisms of learning and memory in rodents, began as an undergraduate at Wellesley College following in the footsteps of my adviser, Dr. Howard Eichenbaum. During a master’s in public health, my research expanded into environmental toxins, and I worked as an environmental science consultant before pursuing a doctorate in neurotoxicology at the Bloomberg School at Johns Hopkins University. Under the expert tutelage of Dr. Joseph Coyle, my dissertation adviser and mentor, my research interests expanded to include cortical development, the cholinergic basal forebrain system, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In Dr. Coyle’s lab, I carried out the proof-of-concept work for galanthamine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, eventually called Razadyne, a widely used treatment for AD. As a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Yvon Lamour at INSERM in Paris, I explored electrophysiological properties of basal forebrain bursting neurons. 

With the opportunity to start my own laboratory at Wellesley College, I combined teaching with a multidisciplinary, highly collaborative approach to science and focused on becoming an expert in mouse cognitive behaviors, understanding the potential that transgenic mice would provide in exploring interactions between genetics and cognitive behaviors. My laboratory pioneered behavioral methods for assessing cognitive function in mice. These techniques have allowed for more precise evaluation of learning, memory, and other cognitive processes, facilitating research on mouse models of neurological disorders.  

One of my notable scientific contributions was pioneering the use of immunotoxins to tease apart the role of cholinergic neuromodulators in cognitive functions. Our unexpected findings shifted previously held paradigms on the role of the cholinergic system in memory. Additionally, my laboratory made significant discoveries regarding Rett syndrome, a rare genetic neurological disorder that primarily affects females. We elucidated neurobiological mechanisms underlying this condition, which involves mutations in the MECP2 gene. By studying mouse models of Rett syndrome, we advanced the understanding of how genetic mutations affect brain development and function and, most importantly, the potential for therapeutic interventions that do no harm.  

The arc of my scientific contributions has been recognized through numerous awards and publications in peer-reviewed journals, as well as research funding from the NIH and the NSF and other private foundations. I am a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the International Behavioral ºÚÁÏÉç Society, and in 2023, I gave the History of ºÚÁÏÉç Lecture at the SfN annual meeting.  

My legacy is not only one of scientific innovation but also one of fostering an inclusive and collaborative environment to empower the next generation of leaders. I am a passionate mentor, guiding and inspiring students and early-career scientists to become engaged neuroscientists and active citizens. 

These are extraordinarily tumultuous times in biomedical sciences with major disruptions in federal funding and threats to our universities. I believe my background in neuroscience research and education, 35 years of involvement in SfN, and two decades of academic management have prepared me for likely challenges facing the next president of SfN.

The full CV for this candidate can be found within the ballot.