Overview
The Neurosciences Concentration at North Carolina State University is designed to prepare students for professional research and teaching careers in the area of neurobiology and to address animal and human health problems associated with the nervous system. Course work and laboratory research in the Neurosciences concentration emphasize studies on brain and behavior that span the range of molecular, cellular, tissue, and physiological aspects of the developing, adult, and aging central and peripheral nervous systems. Our faculty are spread across the university including the Colleges of Veterinary Medicine, Sciences, Engineering, and Agriculture and Life Sciences. Faculty are highly collaborative with expertise in developmental neurobiology, electrophysiology, neuroendocrinology, neurotoxicology, neurogenetics, and behavioral biology in both vertebrate and invertebrate model organisms. Ample collaborations exist with laboratories at UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, and agencies within the Research Triangle Park. As a land-grant university North Carolina State University provides a unique biomedical research environment, which is enhanced through seminars, symposia, and interactive workshops. Graduate research assistantships are available to qualified students who are successfully admitted to the CBS graduate program. Neurosciences graduates are well positioned to compete for positions in universities, pharmaceutical companies, and governmental institutions.
For more information about our program please visit: https://research.ncsu.edu/neurosciences/
COURSES REQUIRED FOR THE PHD NEUROSCIENCES CONCENTRATION
- CBS/BIO 705 Fundamentals of Neuroscience; Fall (3 credits)
- CBS/BIO 805 Special Topics in Neuroscience; Spring (1 credit, minimum 3 credits total for doctoral students; minimum 2 credits total for master’s students)
ELECTIVE COURSES
Elective courses are selected by the student and mentor, and must be approved by the student’s graduate advisory committee. Possible elective course include, but are not limited to, the following:
BIOCHEMISTRY
BCH 701 Macromolecular Structure; Fall (3 credits)
BCH 703 Macromolecular Synthesis and Regulation; Fall (3 credits)
MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY
MB 714 Microbial Metabolic Regulation; Fall (3 credits)
MB 718 Introductory Virology; Fall alternate odd years (3 credits)
MB/IMM 751 Immunology; Spring (3 credits)
IMM/TOX 705 Immunotoxicology; Spring (2 credits)
IMM/CBS 755 Immunoparasitology; Spring alternate years (2 credits)
IMM/PO 757 Comparative Immunology; Spring alternate odd years (3 credits)
IMM/CBS/MB 783 Adv. Immunology; Fall alternate years (3 credits)
IMM/CBS 816 Adv. Topics in Immunology; Fall and Spring (1 credits)
COMPARATIVE BIOMDEICAL SCIENCES
CBS 770 Cell Biology; Spring (3 credits)
CBS 771 Cancer Biology; Fall (4 credits)
CBS 774 Epidemiol. of Inf. Dis. of International Importance; Fall alternate years
MOLECULAR AND CELL BIOLOGY
GN 701 Molecular Genetics; Fall (3 credits)
GN 702 Cellular and Developmental Genetics; Spring (3 credits)
GN 750 Developmental Genetics; Spring alternate years (3 credits)
GN/ST 756 Computations Molecular Evolution; Fall alternate years (3 credits)
GN/MB 758 Microbial Genetics & Genomics; Spring (3 credits)
GN/BCH 761 Adv. Molecular Biology of the Cell; Spring alternate years (3 credits)
GN/BCH 768 Nucleic Acids: Structure and Function; Spring alternate years (3 credits)
GN 810-xxx Special Topics in Genetics; Fall and Spring (1-6 credits)
BCH 705 Molecular Biology of the Cell; Spring (3 credits)
STATISTICS
ST 501 Fundamentals of Statistical Inference I; Fall & Summer (3 credits)
ST 701 Statistical Theory I; Fall (3 credits)
TECHNIQUES
BIT 815 Advanced Topics In Biotechnology; Summer (1-6 credits)
Participating Faculty
| Name | Email | Concentrations | Research Emphasis |
| Adriana San-Miguel | asanmiguel@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | Study the aging nervous system using C. elegans and high-throughput high-content imaging platforms |
| Albert Keung | ajkeung@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | Synthetic Biology; Neural and Stem Cell Engineering, Bioengineering |
| Alper Bozkurt | alper.bozkurt@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | Bioelectronics Engineering (Including Bioinstrumentation, Biomechatronics, Biomimetic Systems) |
| Antonio Planchart | ajplanch@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and other neuromuscular defects in the zebrafish model |
| Casey Nestor | ccnestor@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | Neuroendocrinology underlying the link between reproduction and energy homeostasis for puberty onset, steroid negative feedback, and food intake in sheep |
| Christopher Mariani | clmarian@ncsu.edu | Immunology, Neurosciences | Comparative neuroimmunology and neuro-oncology |
| Coby Schal | coby@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | Urban Entomology, Insect Behavior, Chemical Ecology, Insect Physiology |
| David Dorman | david_dorman@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences, Pharmacology | My research interests include neurotoxicology and cognition and olfaction in animals |
| David Lalush | david_lalush@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | Biomedical Imaging |
| Duncan Lascelles | dxlascel@ncsu.edu | Cell Biology, Neurosciences | Measurement and neurobiology of pain in induced and naturally occurring animal models |
| Elizabeth Lucas | elucas2@ncsu.edu | Cell Biology, Neurosciences | Cell, circuit, and neuroendocrine basis of affective and memory disorders. |
| Emilie Rissman | e_rissman@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | How estrogens modulate sex differences in the brain and behavior |
| He (Helen) Huang | hhuang11@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | Neural-machine interface, wearer-robot interaction, prosthetics and exoskeleton, human-machine symbiosis, rehabilitation engineering |
| Heather Patisaul | hbpatisa@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) alter neuroendocrine pathways in the brain related to sex specific physiology and behavior |
| John Godwin | john_godwin@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | Bioinformatics; Functional Genomics; Genetics; Integrative Physiology, Neuroscience & Behavior |
| John Meitzen | jemeitze@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | Consequences of hormones and biological sex on striatal neurons |
| Jun Ninomiya-Tsuji | jun_tsuji@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | Elucidation of the mechanisms of how TAK1 signaling regulates ROS and tissue homeostasis |
| Karen Munana | krmunana@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | Canine epilepsy- with focus on causes of refractory (poorly controlled) epilepsy and development of more effective treatments for dogs with seizures |
| Kurt Marsden | kcmarsde@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | The Marsden Lab works to define links between genes and environmental factors, neural circuits, and behavior to better understand neurological disease. |
| Laurianne Van Landeghem | lcvanlan@ncsu.edu | Cell Biology, Neurosciences | My lab explores how cues emanating from the microenvironment regulate intestinal epithelial (stem) cells in health and diseases with a special emphasis on cells belonging to the enteric nervous system. |
| Leslie Sombers | lasomber@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | Development of electroanalytical tools for monitoring neurochemicals in real time |
| Micheal Nolan | mwnolan@ncsu.edu | Cell Biology, Neurosciences | We study the intersection of cancer and pain. |
| Natasha Olby | njolby@ncsu.edu | Cell Biology, Neurosciences | We investigate naturally occurring canine neurological disease, specifically aging, pain and spinal cord injury, |
| Patricia A. Estes | pat_estes@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | Education and Public Outreach; Genetics; Integrative Physiology, Neuroscience & Behavior |
| Robert R.H. Anholt | anholt@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | Genetics; Toxicology & Environmental Health Sciences |
| Sabrina Robertson | sedought@ncsu.edu | Cell Biology, Neurosciences | Mapping the connections and functions of all neurons in the brain |
| Santosh Mishra | skmishra@ncsu.edu | Neurosciences | To understand the biological complexity of Itch and Pain sensations under normal and pathological conditions |
| Thierry Olivry | thierry_olivry@ncsu.edu | Cell Biology, Immunology, Infectious Diseases, Neurosciences | Investigating the pathogenesis and therapy of itch and atopic dermatitis in dogs |
| Troy Ghashghaei | troy_ghashghaei@ncsu.edu | Cell Biology, Neurosciences | Development and aging of the adult stem cells and their ependymal niche in the forebrain |
| Yevgeny Brudno | ybrudno@ncsu.edu | Immunology, Neurosciences, Pharmacology | Drug delivery to the brain and to cancer. |