Program Overview

Neuroscience Graduate Program

The Neuroscience Graduate Program is a comprehensive program that aims to generate a functional nervous system through complex events in the right temporal and spatial sequences. Developmental neuroscientists are interested in determining how such processes occur and the mechanisms by which they are regulated.

Program Overview

The program includes the following components:

• Advising
• Program Organization
• Lab Rotations
• Electives and Seminars
• Retreat
• Progress Evaluation
• Student Resources

Neuroscience Research

The program focuses on the following research areas:

• Molecular
• Cellular
• Developmental
• Systems / Computational
• Neurobiology of Disease

Developmental Neuroscience

Developmental neuroscientists study the development of the nervous system, including the generation of neuronal and glial cell types, neuronal processes, and the expression of cell-specific molecules. Approaches used to study the development of the nervous system include:

• Molecular cloning and analysis of DNA and RNA
• Gene transfection of isolated cells
• The generation of transgenic mice to analyze the effects of specific genes
• Immunocytochemistry and situ hybridization to localize proteins
• RNA cell and organ culture to analyze the behavior of isolated neurons and glia
• Biochemical purification of molecules that are essential for development
• Surgical manipulation of embryonic tissues in vivo

Areas of Strength

The program has areas of strength in the following subdisciplines:

• Developmental Neuroscience
• Gene Regulation
• Neuroendocrinology
• Neuron Glial Interactions
• Synapses and Circuits

Faculty

The program has a diverse faculty with expertise in various areas, including:

• Michael C. Andresen, Ph.D. - Professor of Chemical Physiology and Biochemistry, School of Medicine
  • Areas of interest: autonomic, electrophysiology, synaptic transmission
• Stephen A. Back, M.D., Ph.D. - Professor of Pediatrics, School of Medicine
  • Areas of interest: Research on mechanisms of brain injury due to prematurity
• Neal Bennett, B.S.E, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor of Molecular and Medical Genetics, School of Medicine
  • Areas of interest: Diet and nutrition, metabolism, cell fate, cell identity
• Philip F. Copenhaver, Ph.D. - Professor of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology, School of Medicine
  • Areas of interest: Developmental Neuroscience, Mechanisms of neuronal migration, Neurobiology of disease
• Stephen V. David, Ph.D. - Professor of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine
  • Areas of interest: Representation of speech and other natural sounds in auditory cortex, Learning and attention-driven changes in auditory representation
• Ben Emery, Ph.D. - Associate Professor of Neurology, School of Medicine
  • Areas of interest: Myelinating glia, Axoglial interactions, Animal models of de/remyelination and neurodegeneration
• Marc R. Freeman, Ph.D. - Professor, Vollum Institute
  • Areas of interest: glia, axon, Wallerian degeneration, neuron-glia signaling
• Marina Guizzetti, Ph.D. - Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, School of Medicine
  • Areas of interest: Glia, Astrocytes, Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
• Skyler Jackman, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor, Vollum Institute
  • Areas of interest: neurotransmitter release, short-term synaptic plasticity, neural circuits
• Mary Logan, Ph.D. - Associate Professor of Neurology, School of Medicine
• Tianyi Mao, Ph.D. - Professor, Vollum Institute
  • Areas of interest: basal ganglia circuit analysis, cortical-subcortical interactions
• Claudio V. Mello, M.D., Ph.D. - Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, School of Medicine
  • Areas of interest: Neuroethology, Molecular neuroscience, Speech and Language
• Anusha Mishra, Ph.D. - Associate Professor of Neurology, School of Medicine
  • Areas of interest: Neuron-glial and glial-glial interactions, Reactive astrogliosis
• Kelly Monk, Ph.D. - Professor, Vollum Institute
  • Areas of interest: Glial cell biology, Neuron-glial interactions
• Alex Nechiporuk, Ph.D. - Professor of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology, School of Medicine
  • Areas of interest: zebrafish axonal transport neuron development lateral line sensory systems
• Martha Neuringer, Ph.D. - Professor, Oregon National Primate Research Center
  • Areas of interest: Nonhuman primate models of retinal disease, Gene and cell therapies for retinal disease
• Bret J. Pearson, Ph.D. - Professor of Pediatrics, School of Medicine
  • Areas of interest: Neural Regeneration, Stem Cell Biology
• Brian O'Roak, Ph.D. - Professor of Molecular and Medical Genetics, School of Medicine
  • Areas of interest: Autism, Neurodevelopmental disorders, Genetics/genomics
• Arpiar Saunders, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor, Vollum Institute
  • Areas of interest: single-cell genomics, host-virus interactions
• Larry Sherman, Ph.D. - Professor, Oregon National Primate Research Center
• Stephen M. Smith, M.B., B.S., Ph.D. - Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, School of Medicine
• Henrique von Gersdorff, Ph.D. - Professor, Vollum Institute
  • Areas of interest: exocytosis and endocytosis of synaptic vesicles, short and long-term plasticity in the retina and brainstem
• Kevin M. Wright, Ph.D. - Associate Professor, Vollum Institute
  • Areas of interest: neurodevelopment, axon guidance, neuronal migration
• Haining Zhong, Ph.D. - Associate Professor, Vollum Institute
  • Areas of interest: photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM), two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (2PFLIM)