Requirements

Rotations

Research Rotations allow the student to obtain elementary training in a variety of laboratory techniques and methods. A brief introduction to specific aspects of research provides the student with a general appreciation of various research areas and approaches and to identify a faculty member as a potential thesis advisor.

Curriculum

Year 1

Year 2/3

Required Courses

Graduate Core Course in Experimental & Molecular Medicine (Fall & Winter)
Course Director: Joyce DeLeo Ph.D.

PEMM 101
This course offers a general introduction to molecular medicine through principles from cell biology, molecular biology, neurobiology and physiology. Basic biological concepts will be integrated with clinical correlations and translational research. The class will meet 6 hours per week and combine both lectures and readings from the primary literature. Teaching modules will cover Integration of Biological Systems, Macromolecular Structure, Nuclear Processes, Protein Synthesis, turnover and trafficking, and Metabolism. Course director: DeLeo. Module leaders: Galton, Bartlett, Cole, Martin.

PEMM 102
This course is a continuation of PEMM 101 and offers a general introduction to molecular medicine through principles from cell biology, molecular biology, neurobiology and physiology. Basic biological concepts will be integrated with clinical correlations and translational research. The class will meet 6 hours per week and combine both lectures and readings from the primary literature. Teaching modules will cover Plasma membrane receptors: channels and transporters, Plasma membrane receptors: adhesion, motility, proliferation and survival, Immunology and Inflammation. Course director: DeLeo. Module leaders: Hwa, DeLeo, Shworak.

BIOSTATISTICS 103
This required course presents the fundamentals of statistical analysis necessary to accurately and adequately assess data.

NEWD 115 - Neuroscience
The goal of the Neuroscience Course is to provide the student with the basic science background necessary to understand the clinical signs and symptoms of disorders of the human nervous system. The organization and function of the central and peripheral nervous systems will be presented from a correlated anatomical, physiological, and pharmacological perspective by means of lectures and conferences, and by laboratory exercises that incorporate dissection of the brain. Among the topics covered will be: the embryonic/fetal development of the nervous system; the gross and microscopic organization of the brain and spinal cord; the physiology of the neuron and neural transmission; control of motor and sensory functions; neuroendocrine control; control of involuntary functions; the special senses; the higher mental functions such as memory and language; the maintenance of consciousness and sleep; and the motivation and regulation of emotional states. In addition, the course will include an introduction to modern imaging modalities as they apply to neurological diagnosis and also will consider the interface between the brain and behavior. Course director: Rand S. Swenson, M.D., Ph.D.

UNSG 100/PEMM 124 - ETHICAL & RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH (UNSG 100 for fall term and PEMM 124 for Winter Term)
This course seeks to coordinate basic training in professional ethics required of all Dartmouth graduate students with ethical training in the biomedical sciences required for NIH-sponsored research. A basic training program that address ethical issues related to professionalism, authorship, mentoring, and data collection has been developed by the Graduate Studies Office in collaboration with the Ethics Institute at Dartmouth.

In these sessions graduate training faculty will meet with small groups of first-year graduate students and postdocs to facilitate discussions on ethical dilemmas they may encounter in their scientific careers. Case studies will be used to provide a framework for discussions on ethical issues occurring in scientific research. The final four sessions of the course will focus on topics related to NIH-sponsored research including ethical use of research subjects and intellectual property.

Electives

2 Required, Electives not on the list will be considered, pending approval from the Neuroscience Graduate Committee

Molecular Pharmacology Pharm 129
Current Approaches to Experimental Therapeutics Pharm 131
PBS seminar (Intro to cognitive behavioral NS) (PBS)
Neuropharmacology NCD 122
Neurobiology of Disease NCD 211
Advanced Neuroscience Physio 150
Seminar in Special Topics
(i.e., Vision and the Brain, Social Brain Science, etc)		 PBS 111
Introduction to Computational Neuroscience Psyc 040
Synaptology Phys - TBA
Principles of Human Brain Mapping Psyc 060
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory Psyc 086

Journal Clubs

07-08 Neuroscience Journal Club Schedule
A neuroscience journal club is held weekly on Tuesdays throughout the academic year to allow students to select, present, and discuss an article of particular interest. The third week of every month provides a "clinical correlations" presentation that allows a translationally directed discussion of an article with a larger number of clinical faculty present.

Research in Progress

Students describe their ongoing research on an annual basis in a seminar format. This provides an opportunity for students to obtain feedback on their dissertation and a public forum with fellow students, postdocs and faculty that may help to improve oral presentation skills. Annual required thesis committee meetings are often organized shortly after the presentation.

Qualifier

Effective writing of grant applications is required for a successful career in research. The grant application component of the graduate program is both a training exercise to help develop grantsmanship and a qualifying exam. Learning how to compose a defendable hypothesis is an essential component of the training of a graduate student. Students should be able to develop a line of research, propose a hypothesis, and develop a series of experiments to test this hypothesis. A student should be able to defend the proposal orally at a "site-visit." At the same time, the student should also demonstrate knowledge of the larger field of Neuroscience reflected in the general area of the proposal.

Dissertation

The goal of the Ph.D. program is to prepare students for a successful research career whether it is in an academic or industrial environment. This is achieved primarily through the pursuit of an independent research project within the laboratory of a faculty adviser. To ensure that students graduating from the program are of high quality and consistent with the philosophy that students should make a meaningful contribution to their field, it is expected that, by the time of the dissertation defense, the student will have published first-authored, experimentally based manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals.

The Dissertation Committee should be comprised of at least 4 members, one of which should be a GPC member, and one an external member (outside the Neuroscience TracK). Meetings to assess the progress of students should take place at least once a year.

Defense

The Thesis Committee must certify that the student is ready to submit his/her thesis. The thesis will be submitted to the Thesis Committee and a date for the Defense seminar will be established. There must be at least 14 days between submission and defense to permit adequate review of the thesis. The seminar will be open to the public, will be widely announced, and will be followed by a defense of the thesis conducted by the Thesis Committee. Recommendations for awarding the Ph.D. degree will be made by the Director of PEMM upon the advice of the Thesis Committee.