The famed neuroscientist at the center of a hiring controversy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is resigning as director of the research institute he created. Susumu Tonegawa, a Nobel laureate, will stay on the faculty but will focus entirely on his research.

Two weeks ago, a university investigation found that Mr. Tonegawa had behaved inappropriately when he tried to discourage a young female scholar from accepting a job offer from MIT. But university administrators said that no one would be disciplined in the matter, asserting that the real problem was the competitive relationship between different research centers at MIT. An MIT spokeswoman said the decision to resign was Mr. Tonegawa’s.

According to The Boston Globe, some people at MIT have criticized the investigative report as inaccurate. The report has since been removed from the university’s Web site. But Mr. Tonegawa’s resignation may now help ease tensions, the Globe said.