Ph.D. Training in Neuroscience

我们建议继续一个联合赞助的神经科学博士前培训项目，这是支持哈佛大学神经科学博士项目的早期学生的主要来源。这个跨部门博士项目成立于1981年，其目标是：(1)将哈佛医学院、附属医院和哈佛学院的神经科学家组织成一个单一的培训教员队伍；(2)培养对心理健康、神经系统疾病和大脑基本机制感兴趣的科研人员和教师。培训计划旨在为有才华的学员提供广泛而全面的神经科学背景，并指导他们在神经科学的重要领域进行原创和严谨的研究。在第一年，为学生提供科学研究的定量方法的初步准备。接下来是为期一年的神经科学学科课程，该课程为我们在细胞信号、电路计算和行为生成的水平上理解神经系统的发育、功能和疾病提供了综合而严格的概念训练。所有学生都要额外修一门神经科学统计方法课程、一门神经解剖学课程和两门选修课。学生们在第一年还会轮流在三个不同的实验室学习。在课程作业、实验室轮转和初步考试之后，学生开始全职、有指导的论文研究。在课程期间，学生还参与了其他正在进行的培训活动，包括期刊俱乐部，研讨会，务虚会，技能讲习班和数据演示。目前有102名研究生就读于神经科学项目；这项资助资助了14名研究生一、二年级的学生。神经科学专业有141名教师；目前最积极参与研究生教育的74名教员正在就这一建议培训导师。我们付出了相当大的努力，使这个项目成为一个高度互动的群体，学生和教师之间有广泛的正式和非正式的联系。该项目的毕业生将继续在生物医学研究领域从事杰出的职业，并为不断增长的神经科学理解做出重大贡献。

We propose to continue a Jointly Sponsored Predoctoral Training Program in Neurosciences that is the major source of support for early year students in the Ph.D. Program in Neurosciences at Harvard University. The goals of this interdepartmental Ph.D. program, established in 1981, are (1) to organize the neuroscientists at Harvard Medical School, its affiliated hospitals, and Harvard College into a single training faculty cohort; and (2) to train research scientists and teachers who are interested in mental health, diseases of the nervous system, and fundamental mechanisms of the brain. The training program is designed to provide talented trainees with a broad and thorough background in neuroscience and to mentor them in performing original and rigorous research in important areas of neuroscience. During the first year, students are provided with initial preparation in quantitative approaches to scientific endeavors. This is followed by a year long course, The Discipline of Neuroscience, which provides integrated and rigorous training in concepts central to our understanding of the development, function, and diseases of the nervous system at the levels of cellular signaling, circuit computations, and behavior generation. All students take an additional course in Statistical Approaches to Neuroscience, a neuroanatomy course and two electives. Students also rotate through three different laboratories during the first year. Following the coursework, laboratory rotations, and a preliminary examination, students begin full time, mentored dissertation research. During the program, students are also involved in other ongoing training activities including journal clubs, seminars, retreats, skill workshops, and data presentation. There are currently 102 graduate students enrolled in the Program in Neuroscience; this grant supports 14 students in the first or second year of graduate education. There are 141 faculty in the Program in Neuroscience; the 74 faculty who are currently most actively involved in graduate education are training mentors on this proposal. Considerable effort has gone into making this program a highly interactive group with extensive formal and informal contacts between students and faculty. Graduates of this program go on to distinguished careers in biomedical research and make substantial contributions to a growing understanding of neuroscience.