Courses

As neuroscience has continued to grow and become more interdisciplinary, it has become increasingly important for all neuroscientists to be fluent in the wide array of experimental techniques – and data analysis approaches used derive insight from those techniques – in order to collaborate effectively with colleagues. The current mainstay of exposure to research techniques is through training in specific laboratories and is thus limited to the approaches deployed in those labs. Coursework with a broad scope, on the other hand, is more typically geared towards the current state of knowledge rather than the techniques used to acquire that knowledge – with the exception of certain classical historical examples. While methods courses exist, they tend to be narrow in focus. Therefore, this course aims to provide all neuroscience students – independent of each one’s area of expertise – broad exposure to the modern experimental and data analytic techniques of the field. Of particular importance, related experimental and analytical techniques will be coupled and taught by pairs of expert faculty. This will bridge the gap between students with experimental and theoretical interests who may currently have limited exposure to each other’s research training despite working to answer similar questions. Students who complete this course will have a comprehensive familiarity with modern techniques in neuroscience.