The Graduate Program in Medical Neurobiology is a multi-departmental program administered through the Institute of Psychiatric Research and the Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, in cooperation with Departments of Anatomy, Biology, Biochemistry, Medical Genetics, Microbiology/Immunology, Neurology, Pathology, Pharmacology/Toxicology, Physiology/Biophysics, and Psychology.  This interdisciplinary neuroscience program includes approximately 60 faculty members from the IU School of Medicine, the IUPUI School of Science and Eli Lilly. The Medical Neurobiology Program currently has 22 graduate students enrolled including 3 M.D./Ph.D. students. 

    One of the unique features of our Medical Neurobiology Program is that it combines the analytical expertise and methodological approaches of the neurobiological and behavioral sciences to study neural function in systems from basic molecular processes to the whole organism and includes opportunities for both basic and clinical research.  Areas of research interest in the Medical Neurobiology Program include neurochemical correlates of psychiatric and neurologic disorders and related animal models; identification of neurotransmitter and neuropeptide systems; interactions of pharmacologic agents and transmitter systems;  neuronal relationships in caudate nucleus and cerebellum; cytoarchitecture and ultra structure of adult and developing nuclei; clinical and neuromorphological aspects of aging and degenerative diseases in humans and experimental animal models; axoplasmic transport;  diabetic neuropathies; neuroendocrine-neurotransmitter interaction; neural tissue transplants; brain imaging in psychiatric disorders; neurochemical mechanisms of alcoholism in clinical states and in animal models; pathophysiology of demyelinating diseases; neurochemistry of cerebral ischemia; molecular genetics and molecular neurobiology of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders; neurobiology of clinical anxiety and panic disorders and related animal models.

    The primary training facilities are in the Institute of Psychiatric Research, the Medical Science Building, the newly constructed Stark Neuroscience Research Institute, and other academic/research buildings located on the Indiana University Medical Center and IUPUI campus.  The laboratories available for graduate and postdoctoral research are well equipped for the most recent methodologies in biological psychiatry, molecular genetics, molecular neurobiology, neuroanatomy, neuroendocrinology, neurochemistry, neuropathology, neuropharmacology, neurophysiology, etc. as well as basic and clinical behavioral studies.  Facilities for patient care are located in Medical Center Hospitals.

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    The Medical Neurobiology Program offers the Doctor of Philosophy, and  the combined M.D./Ph.D.  

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See Guidelines for the Ph.D. and MD/Ph.D. degrees

        Doctor of Philosophy Degree:
        A total of 90 credit hours, including dissertation.  A minimum of 36 credit hours must be in course work for those students matriculating after January, 2005.  The remainder of the 90 credits is in research.  All students are required to have a minor, which includes 12 credit hours taken in one of the basic medical sciences associated with the Medical Neurobiology Program:  anatomy, biochemistry, medical genetics, microbiology/ immunology, pathology, pharmacology, physiology/biophysics and psychology.  All students must pass both a written and oral qualifying examination.  All students are required to write and defend a dissertation.  For a Guide to the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations, see the following link.   (http://www.iupui.edu/~resgrad/grad/theses_dissertation.pdf ).  Finally, all Ph.D. student are required to present two formal seminars in the Graduate Student Seminar Series.

Core Courses:

N800 Research in Medical Neurobiology (cr. arr.) P: consent of instructor with whom research is being
done. Supervised literature and laboratory research in selected area(s) of medical neurobiology.

N801 Seminar: Topics in Medical Neurobiology (1 cr.) Required of all graduate students in program.
Recent topics in medical neurobiology covered by literature and research reports and discussions by
faculty, graduate students, and invited guest lecturers.

N802 Techniques of Effective Grant Writing (3 cr. fall semester) The grantsmanship course is designed to teach
graduate students how to write an NIH application and to provide information on the review process.
Students will complete an NIH R03 application by the end of the semester. All students will participate in
a mock IRG-style review of each application at the end of the course.

N611 Fundamental Neuroscience – Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology (1 cr. fall semester) A lecture/discussion course to introduce the student to general principles of cell and molecular biology and to provide an overview of general anatomy, elcetrical properties of neurons, and synaptic transmission. This course is designed as a primer for subsequent courses in the series (N612 through N617).

N612 Fundamental Neuroscience – Neurotransmitter Dynamics & Synaptic Plasticity (2 cr. spring semester) P: Consent of Instructor. A lecture/discussion course to explore the fundamental mechanisms involved in neurotransmitter synthesis, release, storage, reuptake and general metabolism. Molecular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity as well as facilitation and depression of synaptic strength will also be explored.

N613 Fundamental Neuroscience – Electrical Signaling & Ion Channel Biology (2 cr. fall semester) P: Consent of Instructor. A lecture/discussion course to explore the electrical properties of neurons, including various ion channels, ion channel pharmacology, and the generation, shape and conduction of action potentials.

N614 Fundamental Neuroscience – Special Senses & Integrative Neurophysiology (2 cr. spring semester) P: Consent of Instructor. A lecture/discussion course to explore fundamental concepts and mechanisms related to various sensory receptors (photo receptors, hair cells), spinal reflex circuits, central pattern generators, and the visual system as a complex integrative model.

N615 Fundamental Neuroscience – Neuropharmacology of synaptic transmission (2 cr. fall semester) P: Consent of Instructor. A lecture/discussion course to explore the pharmacology of synaptic transmission with emphasis on transmitter receptors and basic pharmacologic principles including potency, efficacy, drug-protein interactions, ternary models for receptor activation, etc.

N616 Fundamental Neuroscience – Developmental Biology of Neurons (2 cr. spring semester) P: Consent of Instructor. A lecture/discussion course to explore concepts in basic neuroembryology including examination of molecular cures for axial patterning, axonal pathfinding and growth, developmental regulation of gene transcription, neuronal stem cells and glial cell precursors, and regionalization of nervous system function.

N617 Fundamental Neuroscience – Intracellular Signal Transduction in Neurons (2 cr. fall semester) P: Consent of Instructor. A lecture/discussion course to explore the fundamentals of signal transduction with emphasis on G-protein signaling mechanisms, post-translational modifications of neuronal proteins, growth factor, integrin and calcium signaling pathways, and lipid signaling in neurons.

D527 Graduate Neuroanatomy (3 cr. spring semester) The lectures are organized first as an orientation/overview of the nervous system and its function. This is followed by a block of lectures covering fundamental neurocytology/ and neurochemistry. The third component of the course is designed to investigate systemic neuroanatomy. This is the core of the course and will be presented as four major systems; sensory, motor, visceral and cognitive. However, the student should understand that this approach is for organization and didactic purposes only and that normal neurological function involves and requires integration of all systems. The ultimate goal of the course is to provide the student a sufficient background to feel comfortable with neurological applications of the basic sciences and to have a fundamental scientific basis for research, future diagnosis and treatment. Clinical information will be presented whenever and wherever it helps the student understand a particular region or system of the PNS or CNS.  The application of the basic sciences to clinical problems is an integral part of the course, and will be required information for both examinations and your future research/clinical work.

P615 - Behavioral Neuroscience
           

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Students will be required to engage in three (3) rotations, two of which will be "traditional" and the third will be a novel dissertation-centric experience with a formal co-mentor.  Students will choose their rotations only from laboratories of faculty with endorsement on the graduate faculty prepared to support the research of an eventual dissertation project.  The rotations should be in laboratories that have distinctly different technical approaches to research (e.g. imaging vs. behavior; molecular biology vs. electrophysiology).  Each rotation will alst a complete semester with a 20 hours/week commitment on the part of the student.  The two rotations will be taken in the first year of graduate school and the student will ordinarily be prepared to choose a dissertation laboratory by the end of the spring semester of that year.  Under no circumstances will a student be permitted to waive the first two rotations.

In addition to a primary mentor, each student (in consultation with their primary mentor and their advisory committee) will choose a secondary mentor from among the faculty. This individual will be chosen to provide a complementary technical approach to those available in the primary mentor’s lab to be incorporated into the thesis research. A formal rotation in the secondary mentor’s lab will then be scheduled as early as the summer following the first year and no later than the summer following the second year of the program. Examples of complementary research would be confocal imaging for a student doing primarily microdialysis, or biochemistry for a student doing primarily electrophysiology, or receptor binding for a student doing primarily molecular genetics.

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    Students have no specific required teaching assignments other than presenting seminars on a regular basis for the Program in Medical Neurobiology as well as for the respective departments of their mentors.  However, a number of students have served as teaching assistants for the Dept. of Anatomy's courses in Medical Anatomy and Medical Neurobiology.  In addition, students frequently give lectures in various courses in the Neurobiology Program.  Other students have given lectures or have taught entire courses at some of the colleges in the Indianapolis area: Butler University, Marian College, University of Indianapolis.  Each student is encouraged to take advantage of, and seek out teaching opportunities whenever it is possible to fit teaching experiences into their research schedules.

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    Students are given support from a number of sources including IUPUI Graduate Fellowships (1st year), NIH pre-doctoral fellowships, faculty mentor research grants, RIF Fellowships, Lilly Research Laboratory  Fellowships and other departmental fellowships.  Tuition scholarships are funded by departmental grants and pre-doctoral fellowships.

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    Dormitories and apartments for single and married students are available on campus, along with a variety of dining facilities.  Many pleasant residential areas are available within a 20 minute drive of the Medical Center.  The general cost-of-living index is substantially lower than most metropolitan areas.  

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    Health insurance is mandatory for all students.  The University offers insurance through the MEGA Life and Heath Insurance Company and is administered by EFG-Student Insurance.  The Medical Neurobiology Program covers health insurance costs for its Ph.D. students.

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JRS