• The Neuroscience Ph.D. Program provides graduate students with the broad academic background, technical expertise, clinical exposure, and scientific scholarship necessary to continue their careers in neuroscience research. A major goal of this research is to provide society with the basic information about nervous system function that is critical for developing treatments for neurological and behavioral disorders. Scientific study of the nervous system is thus essential for overall health and well-being. Damage or disorders in this system may result in severe impairment to the patient and costs billions of dollars to diagnose and treat each year.
  • Examples of brain disorders that exact a devastating toll on the nation’s health include traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, stroke, depression, schizophrenia, and drug abuse, to name but a few. Furthermore, as biomedical research progresses, it has become increasingly clear that the nervous system is critically involved in all diseases, not just behavioral and neurological disorders. Brain function influences the onset and progression of illnesses ranging from infectious disease to cancer to diabetes. Behavior, which is the manifestation of brain functions, is probably the most important factor in determining disease onset. Examples of behaviors directly influencing health include exercise, diet, smoking, and illicit drug use. Understanding how the brain regulates these behaviors may yield the most important information about how to prevent major diseases.