Brown Univ and NIH Create Joint Neuroscience Graduate Program

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 21 Jan 2005 - 0:00 PDT


The National Institutes of Health has selected Brown University as the first U.S. university to join its Graduate Partnerships Program in the field of neuroscience.

The National Institutes of Health, the leading biomedical research agency in the United States, has chosen Brown University's graduate program in neuroscience to join its Graduate Partnerships Program.

The program supports 300 students from around the world as they pursue doctoral degrees in fields ranging from biophysics to structural biology.

Brown is one of 15 universities to join the program and the only American university chosen to collaborate with the NIH in neuroscience.

Mary DeLong, director of Graduate Partnerships at NIH, said the quality of Brown's neuroscience program made it a natural partner.

"Brown's graduate program is providing outstanding classroom training in the neurosciences," DeLong said. "The NIH can build on that foundation with a vast range of laboratory experience at the cutting edge of neuroscience. These students will get training that is second to none."

Students are eligible to apply now for fall 2005 admission to the Brown neuroscience graduate program. Brown can accept up to four incoming students for the Graduate Partnerships Program in the 2005-2006 academic year.

Under the program, students will spend one to two years at Brown completing coursework. By the fall of their second year, they will choose a mentor at NIH or at Brown to conduct dissertation research. Often, students will choose collaborative projects that link University faculty with NIH scientists. While students will conduct research at NIH, they will graduate with a degree from Brown.

Students in the program have access to hundreds of NIH investigators and one of the largest biomedical centers in the world. At Brown, they can work with 34 graduate faculty trainers not only in neuroscience but in eight other departments and programs, including applied mathematics, psychology and molecular pharmacology.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for students. The partnership increases their options and flexibility for a dissertation choice, and it provides a mechanism to foster joint projects between labs at Brown and NIH," said Diane Lipscombe, associate professor of neuroscience and director of graduate study in the neuroscience program. "The new program is good for Brown, as well. It builds on our tradition of interdisciplinary research. And the increase in the number of students will add diversity to the neuroscience program."

For additional information about the NIH/Brown Graduate Partnerships Program, send e-mail to neuroscience@brown.edu or visit neuroscience.brown.edu/graduate.html.

Wendy Lawton
Wendy_Lawton@brown.edu

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