Esther A. Nimchinsky

Dr. Nimchinsky began medical school expecting to become a physician, probably a neurologist. But in her first year she got involved in neurobiology research, and was hooked. She transferred into the MD/PhD program, and proceeded to complete a doctorate in Neurobiology, with an emphasis on neuroanatomy, specifically the cingulate cortex of the human and nonhuman primate. Dr. Nimchinsky finished her clinical training, but was still interested in research, so she pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, studying synaptic dynamics using two photon laser scanning microscopy. She then took a faculty appointment at Rutgers-Newark, at the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience. In her lab, they applied in vivo two photon imaging and electrophysiology to the study of neuron-glial interactions. Although it was challenging and she made contributions to the field, she did not find the fulfillment she was seeking. Dr. Nimchinsky returned to medicine by completing an internship in Medicine at UMDNJ, and Radiology residency and Neuroradiology fellowship at Mount Sinai. After training, she took a job at a busy private practice serving Trenton Regional Medical Center, covering a neuroscience center, comprehensive stroke center, and Level 2 trauma center. It was a great experience, but she wanted to get back to academics, so that she could teach and do research.