Activities

The Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Neuroscience sponsors a yearly retreat for faculty and students. The retreat is usually in the Fall semester and offers these opportunities:

• Career discussions with guest scientists.
• Specialized workshops.
• Scientific poster sessions.
• Mock study section grant reviewing.

The Neuroscience Cluster holds a one-hour colloquium every Thursday at 4:00 PM during the academic year. Outside speakers are invited by students and faculty through the Colloquium Committee and hosted in the appropriate department. Outside speakers are asked to spend one or two days visiting labs and talking with graduate students over lunch. Internal speakers are asked to discuss ongoing research, with the hope of attracting beginning students to their labs and sharing ideas with interdepartmental colleagues.

The Neuroscience Graduate Student Seminar Series is held weekly during the academic year, when one or two students discuss current research for 30 minutes. First-year students are expected to prepare a 30-minute presentation, either focusing on the results of a laboratory rotation project or reviewing a paper. Second-year students, who have not accumulated sufficient data for a full seminar, may present a critical review of a paper or a combination of literature review and their own data. Students who have embarked on thesis research are expected to present a formal seminar about their research work.

There is a monthly luncheon for the Neuroscience Cluster graduate students and the Neuroscience Graduate Program Leadership. Topics affecting graduate education are discussed and, of course, lunch is provided. This session may also include an informal presentation or chalk-talk by participating program representatives and students.