Overview

The Interdisciplinary Program in Translational Neuroscience (IPTN) is a PhD program designed to provide broad training in neuroscience to prepare students for careers in academic, clinical and translational research involving the nervous system including disease, trauma and developmental disorders.

Students will be assigned advisors initially to help them with course selection, choosing laboratories to rotate in and finding research mentors. Committee members will be assembled from the participating professors/lecturers representing a broad range of both basic and clinical Neuroscience. Individualized curricula will emphasize basic genetic, molecular, cellular, and/or systems mechanisms that underlie a wide range of neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases and disorders.

Students who successfully complete the program will gain a strong academic background in the neurosciences and intellectual mastery of relevant scientific literature with a major emphasis either in the system/cognitive or cellular/molecular areas. They will gain a good understanding of the ethical issues involved in conducting translational research and receive outstanding training in how to conduct basic science research and/or clinical research with patients.

Areas of focus include:

  • Spinal cord injury, motor systems and rehabilitation.
  • Vision, retina and visual pathways
  • Sensory systems, autonomic nervous system and pain
  • Developmental neurobiology
  • Behavioral & cognitive neuroscience
  • Neuropharmacology and neurochemistry

Disciplines (Departments):