FAS - Neuroscience

The Center for Neuroscience (CNUP) Training Program is an interschool PhD program offered cooperatively by the School of Medicine and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Neuroscience is the study of the structure and function of the nervous system, especially the brain. The field has emerged during the past two decades as a separate discipline, much as biochemistry and endocrinology became separate disciplines within the biomedical sciences in earlier decades. By now, the study of mind and brain is arguably the most exciting scientific enterprise of this time.

Understanding the nervous system provides key insights into human nature as well as treatments for a host of devastating neurologic and psychiatric disorders. The program introduces students to the fundamental issues and experimental approaches in neuroscience and trains them in the theory and practice of laboratory research.

The CNUP is a campus-wide organization that promotes research and related academic activities in a large neuroscience community, and it is important to note that a major feature of the program is the extensive collaborative interactions among its faculty. The field of neuroscience attracts people from many different disciplines in the natural sciences, and this heterogeneity in background is exploited by the diverse approaches taken by the faculty to research problems of common interest.

Contact Information

1448 Biomedical Science Tower

Phone: (412) 648-9537

Fax: (412) 648-1441

E-mail: blaney@brain.bns.pitt.edu

Web site: http://www.pitt.edu/~cnup

Research

Research interests of the training faculty focus on several prominent themes:

(a) The molecular basis of cellular communication. Research programs investigate synaptic efficacy and neurotransmitter release, neurotransmitter receptor structure, intracellular signaling cascades, and the neuroplasticity seen in the recovery of function after brain damage and in learning.

(b) Neural development. Research programs study the mechanisms that contribute to the formation of the brain and spinal cord, such as pattern formation, neuronal and glial differentiation, cell migration, axon guidance, and synapse formation.

(c) The pathophysiological events associated with psychiatric and neurological disorders. These include investigations of basic mechanisms of cell death and the etiology and treatment of schizophrenia, Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, neurodevelopmental disorders, neuromuscular disorders, and AIDS.

(d) Cognitive neuroscience. Research programs study visual perception, learning and memory, neuropsychiatry, and brain imaging.

(e) Information processing in brain circuits. Research programs investigate motor function in cortical and subcortical circuits, and mechanisms of sensory processing in the visual, somatosensory, auditory and vestibular systems, with a focus on thalamocortical, cortico-cortical, and brainstem circuits.

(f) Homeostatic regulatory systems that maintain the internal milieu by integrated physiological and behavioral processes coordinated by the brain. Research programs study ingestive behavior, neuropeptide synthesis and release, control of the cardiovascular, digestive, and vestibular systems, and autonomic function.

Admissions

Students are admitted into the CNUP Training Program on the assumption that they will be able to meet all requirements for the PhD degree. Those who are selected show evidence of a high level of intellectual talent, a strong interest in neuroscience, and a commitment to scholarship and research.

Admission decisions are based on many factors including the candidate's statement of interest and goals in the field of neuroscience, evidence of research experience and accomplishment, letters of recommendation, test scores, grades, and personal interviews. An outstanding record in one of these areas may compensate for poorer performance in another area. In general, successful applicants have a BS degree in neuroscience, biology, chemistry, or psychology with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale), and a score of at least 1950 on the Graduate Record Exam (verbal, quantitative, and analytical).

Degree Requirements

The minimal requirements established by the Graduate Faculty of the University, as described under General Academic Regulations beginning on page 17, and any additional requirements of FAS Graduate Studies described under FAS Degree Requirements, should be read in conjunction with program-specific degree requirements described in the following sections.

The requirements for the PhD degree in neuroscience include the following required course work:

INTBP 2000 Foundations of Biomedical Science (8 cr)

INTBP 2005 Foundations Conference (4 cr)

or

MSNBIO/NROSCI 2100 Cell & Molecular Neurobiology (7 cr)

MSNBIO/NROSCI 2101 Cell & Molecular NB Conf (2 cr)and

MSNBIO/NROSCI 2102 Systems Neurobiology (4 cr)

MSNBIO/NROSCI 2103 Systems NB Conf (2 cr)

INTBP 2020 or BIOS 2041 Intro to Statistical Methods 1 (2 cr)

In addition to University requirements for graduate degrees, students are also required to pass a reprint exam following their first year of study, to obtain research experience in at least two separate laboratories (either done initially as research rotations or later as a research apprenticeship), to serve as a Teaching Assistant for at least one term (or course), and to complete a series of workshops on professional ethics and professional development.

Financial Assistance

All students are supported in full from University fellowships and numerous grants funded by the federal government and private agencies. Students in the program also have access to sponsorship on NIH training grants.