Research in NSS

Catalog description

Program Director: C. Rory Goodwin, MD, PhD. Overview: The Neurosciences Study Program is designed to provide a multidisciplinary opportunity for third year medical students over the broad range of basic and clinical neurosciences. Many of the most intractable and prevalent diseases of our time afflict the nervous system, and in many ways research in the neurosciences represents one of the final frontiers of medicine and biomedical science. Areas of study range from molecular and cellular neuroscience, neuroimaging, developmental neurobiology, systems and cognitive neuroscience to translational neuroscience such as animal modeling of neurological disease and development of potential therapeutics. Faculty in the program are drawn from many departments including Neurobiology, Radiology, Pharmacology, Cell Biology, Psychology, Neurosurgery, Neurology, Pediatrics, Medicine, Psychiatry, and Ophthalmology, and are engaged in research that ranges from fundamental properties of ion channels and neurotransmitter receptors to cognition and perception. The program emphasizes a basic research experience under the guidance of a mentor along with opportunities to attend seminars and present results in written, oral, and poster presentations. Research: The basic component of the Neurosciences Study Program is an in-depth research experience in a research laboratory under the supervision of one of the participating faculty. Students will work full-time in a laboratory pursuing an independent research project including conducting experiments, analyzing results, and communicating findings. Proposal: All students are expected to prepare a 2-3 page proposal by the beginning of the third year, outlining the aims of the proposed research in consultation with their chosen mentor. This proposal should state the problem to be studied, the rationale and relevance of the problem, the specific…