Neuroscience

Chair

Curriculum

A. All programs of study must meet all guidelines set forth by the Graduate School of the University of Georgia. This includes a minimum of 16 hours 8000/9000 level courses.

B. Required Courses (15 h)
Student must complete the following required courses:

1. Neurophysiology (3 h):
VPHY 8400 Neurophysiology

2. Neuroanatomy (3 h):

PSYC 8300 Neuroanatomy for Behavioral Scientists

3. Ethics (3 h):

BHSI 8000 Bioethics

4. Research Skills: Statistics and Laboratory Techniques selected from the following list of courses (6h):

STAT 6210 and STAT 6220 Statistical Methods I & II

PSYC 6410 Statistics in Psychological Research and PSYC 6430 Applied Regression Methods in Psychology or PSYC 6440 Experimental Design in Psychology.)

VPHY 6930 Research Methods

PSYC 8330 Laboratory Apprenticeship in Biopsychology

CBIO 8920L Cellular Biology Research Techniques

BIOL (CBIO) (VPAT) 5040/7040 Electron Microscopy

CBIO 8050-8050L Techniques in Modern Microscopy

C. Content Area Courses

Area A: Cellular/Molecular Biology:

BCMB 6000 General Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
or BCMB 6010 and BCMB 6020 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I & II
or BCMB 8010 and BCMB 8020 Advanced Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I & II

Area B: Physiology & Pharmacology:

VPHY 6090 and VPHY 6100 Comparative Mammalian Physiology
or VPHY 8460 Molecular Pharmacology
or PHRM 6400 Human Physiology I
or PHRM 6410 and PHRM 6420 Pharmacology I & II
or PHRM 8430 Advanced Neuropharmacology
or CBIO 6730 Endocrinology

Area C: Behavioral/Systems Neuroscience:

PSYC 6130 Biological Foundations of Behavior
or PSYC 6160 Sensory Psychology
or PSYC 8900 Psychopharmacology Seminar
or CMSD 6800 Neural Bases of Speech, Language, and Hearing

Area D: Cognitive/Clinical Neuroscience:

PSYC 7780 Animal Cognition
or PSYC 8550 Neuropsychological Assessment
or PSYC 6110 Basic Learning Processes
or EPSY 8340 Child Neuropsychology

Taken over the course of residency at the University of Georgia
NEUR 9000 Research 10-30h
NEUR 9300 Dissertation 6h

To Apply to the Neuroscience Program

***An extensive overview of the Neuroscience Ph.D. Program is available in PDF format***

Application for admission to the Graduate School may be filed in an
electronic on-line application:
In order to complete the processing of your graduate school application we will need to receive the following information:

1. Completed admission application to the University of Georgia Graduate School (www.grad.uga.edu)

2. Official transcripts of all college work

3. Applications from foreign students must include a TOEFL score

4. GRE scores

5. Three letters of recommendation.

6. Completion of the statement of interest form that describes your career goals and research interests

The last item should be submitted to the Neuroscience PhD Program, Biomedical Health Sciences Institute, S150 Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 or as an email attachment on your online application. When this information is complete, a decision can be made on your application. Please make sure to give your anticipated date of enrollment. Feel free to contact the Neuroscience PhD Program if you have questions.

Apply by December 31 to be eligible for University Assistantships.

Departments with faculty represented in the Neuroscience Ph.D. program include:

Animal and Dairy Science
Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Cellular Biology
Chemistry
Communication Sciences and Special Education
Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology
Entomology
Foods and NutritionGenetics
Kinesiology
Pathology
Physiology and Pharmacology
Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences
Psychology
Small Animal Medicine

Overview of Ph.D Program

The Ph.D. program in Neuroscience at the University of Georgia has four areas of content focus. These include the following:

1. Cellular/Molecular Biology
2. Physiology and Pharmacology
3. Behavioral/Systems Neuroscience
4. Cognitive/Clinical Neuroscience

Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves.  This system is critical to overall health and well being of the body.  Damage to this system results in severe impairment to the patient and costs billions of dollars to diagnose and treat each year.  For example, traumatic brain injury is estimated to occur in over 1.5 million Americans each year.  Impairments associated with traumatic brain injury include problems with communication, emotional disruption, loss of sensation and movement and impaired thinking abilities.  The cost of traumatic brain injury to society is estimated at over $50,000,000,000 per year as many of these patients require long-term care.

Multiple departments participate in the Neuroscience Ph.D. program at the University of Georgia. This interdisciplinary nature of neuroscience requires study across a range of topics. Thus, students will be interacting with faculty in multiple departments.  Neuroscience research at the University of Georgia contributes to our understanding of how to treat many diseases such as traumatic brain injury.  Faculty at the University of Georgia are involved in studies that contribute to our understanding of a number of other diseases.  These include:

Alcoholism afflicting over 17 million Americans at a cost of over 185 billion dollars

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), a devastating neuromuscular disease with approximately 5000 new cases diagnosed each year in the United States.

Autism is diagnosed in approximately 1 in every 250 babies (about 1.5 million cases).  This disease, or the related pathologies, incurs a tremendous financial and emotional toll on the families of the afflicted.
 
Depression and Anxiety afflict over 20 million Americans and carries a heavy financial burden in the form of lost work as well as the emotional burden on patients, family and friends.
 
Epilepsy has been experienced by approximately 2.3 million Americans at an estimated cost of 12.5 billion dollars.  This does not include associated neural damage from repeated epileptic episodes.

Hearing Loss is noted in about 28 million Americans.  In children, it can contribute to delayed learning as well as emotional and social impediments.  In adults, it is associated with depression and isolation.
 
Sleep Disorders are a major cause of work loss in the United States and distress millions of Americans.  These disorders range from insomnia to the potentially fatal, sleep apnea.
 
Memory Impairment (Alzheimer’s Disease) hampers the daily life of millions of elderly Americans.  Estimated costs of the devastating degenerative disease are over 100 billion dollars per year in medical care and lost productivity.

Muscular Dystrophy is a neuromuscular disorder affecting over 55,000 Americans.  The rapid breakdown of muscle in these patients lead to thousands of dollars in medical expenses per year per patient for a disease that has no cure.

Drug Addiction to drugs such as nicotine, cocaine and heroin has devastating consequences, affects tens of millions of Americans and costs hundreds of billions of dollars per year.

Parkinson’s Disease is a degenerative disease affecting over 1 million people in the United States.  Medications alone cost over $4000 per year on average for each patient.  This does not include the emotional toll and burden placed on families.

Pain Disorders afflict millions of Americans with billions of dollars lost in sick days and lost productivity.  Research into methods to treat chronic pain and provide specific site therapies will improve the quality of life for millions of people.

Schizophrenia is a disease sometimes associated with disruption of dopamine systems in the brain.  This disease often affects persons in their 20s and 30s at a time when they are starting families or becoming established in jobs.  Thus, the burden can be extremely difficult.  New methods of diagnosis and treatment are the focus of many research projects.

Spinal Cord Injury occurs in many accident victims.  Research aimed at facilitating regeneration in the spinal cord, including stem cell technology, may contribute to recovery of spinal cord function in these patients.

Stroke is a vascular disorder that deprives portions of the brain or spinal cord of essential nutrition, primarily oxygen and glucose.  Until recently, these episodes were extremely devastating to stroke victims.  Better therapies benefit the patients, including rehabilitation, and prevention strategies contribute greatly to reducing the likelihood of the disease.

These studies are conducted in multiple departments that participate in the Neuroscience Ph.D. program at the University of Georgia. This interdisciplinary nature of neuroscience requires study across a range of topics. Thus, students may be interacting with faculty in various departments.