The Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI) is one of the world's premier research institutes in the areas of human memory and diseases and disorders that impact human memory. Founded in 1999, it was named for U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller's mother, who died from complications of Alzheimer's. In 2016, West Virginia University acquired the Institute and agreed to consolidate all of its neurosciences research under a new WVU Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute.

Blanchette Ferry Hooker Rockefeller was born in New York City on October 2, 1909, and was known for her numerous contributions to community service, the arts, and education during her lifetime. She graduated from Vassar College in 1931 with a degree in music, and in 1932, she married John D. Rockefeller Jr., the eldest child of Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller. Blanchette was a major benefactor of the Museum of Modern Art, serving as president twice and leading a fundraising campaign that allowed the Museum to double the size of its gallery space. She also served as a member of the National Council on the Humanities and was a member of the New York Philharmonic Symphony Society, among other cultural institutions. She died from Alzheimer's disease complicated by pneumonia on November 30, 1992, at the age of 83.

Her philanthropic deeds, as well as her grace and charm, were remembered by her son, Jay, at her funeral. During his career as a U.S. Senator from West Virginia (1985-2015) he championed health care issues, and following his mother's death, established the Institute to combat Alzheimer's, which he called a "dreadful, wicked, inexorable nightmare."

In 1999, he broke ground on BRNI in Morgantown, West Virginia. BRNI's primary research mission focused on preventing, diagnosing, treating, and curing neurologic, psychiatric, and other cognitive disorders affecting the human brain. Areas of study included Alzheimer's, stroke and central nervous system injury, mood disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other disorders affecting auditory and visual processing. The Institute also sought to foster private sector partnerships that would facilitate bringing drug discoveries more quickly to doctors and patients and would encourage new investments and jobs in West Virginia.

Following BRNI's filing for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code, West Virginia University acquired the Institute in 2016. WVU agreed to bring all of its neurosciences research under the umbrella of WVU Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute and to pursue team-based research, including the existing teams researching addiction, strokes, cognitive neuroscience, and sensory neuroscience. WVU also announced the formation of two new centers for brain health and for neurodegenerative diseases.

"Introduction to BRNI," A&M 4211, Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute records, West Virginia & Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries.

Teltsch, Kathleen. "Blanchette Rockefeller, 83, Philanthropist, Dies." The New York Times, accessed December 13, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/01/nyregion/blanchette-rockefeller-83-philanthropist-dies.html.

WVU University Relations. "West Virginia University agrees to acquire BRNI, continue research." WVU Today, accessed December 13, 2016, http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2016/08/02/west-virginia-university-agrees-to-acquire-brni-continue-research.