A well-known neurologist praised by colleagues for his integrity and warmth was named the next dean of Harvard Medical School, the University announced yesterday.

Joseph B. Martin, currently the chancellor of the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), will replace Daniel C. Tosteson '44 in June.

Martin said in an interview last night that he accepted the position "because it's Harvard."

"I'm looking forward to getting back in touch with the real world of students and faculty," Martin said. "I like to get the most out of people, to help them be the most creative and productive individuals that they can be."

Martin said he plans to have lunch with a medical student at least one day a week.

"I'd like to get to know the students personally and find out their career objectives," he said.

President Neil L. Rudenstine said he was pleased that Martin had accepted the deanship.

"It was a cumulative set of criteria and qualities that made the difference," Rudenstine said in an interview yesterday, citing Martin's personal, scientific, intellectual and administrative accomplishments.

In his tenure at UCSF, Martin led the school's first capital campaign to raise more than $550 million, and has built biochemistry and molecular biology programs considered among the best in the country.

Martin is also familiar with Harvard and the Medical School, having taught as Dorn professor of neurology for 21 years prior to accepting his first position at UCSF as dean.

During his tenure at Harvard, Martin served as acting director and chief of neurology services at Mass. General Hospital (MGH), one of Harvard's teaching hospitals.

"He was a very central figure in the faculty of the school," said S. James Adelstein, executive dean for academic programs at MGH. "He has all the qualifications for leadership. He's definitive in his actions. He's a gentleman."

Samuel O. Their, a colleague of Martin's and the chief executive officer of Partners Health Care System, a conglomerate encompassing Mass. General and Brigham and Women's Hospitals, said Martin was "the ideal candidate" for the job.

"He has a long and distinguished career as a pioneering neuroscientist and is widely respected as a gifted and passionate teacher," Their said. "The decade he spent at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School provides Joe with a valuable perspective of the University and its affiliated teaching hospitals."

Martin's colleagues from across the continent also enthusiastically endorsed his selection as dean.