Georgetown%20University%20Interdisciplinary%20Program%20in%20Neuroscience%20(IPN)

1
Georgetown University Interdisciplinary Program
in Neuroscience (IPN)
Samantha Crowe Maureen Cruz Ivy Estabrooke Karen Gale Alexis Jeannotte Jagmeet Kanwal Alexei Kondratyev Philberta Leung Judy Lytle Katherine Meeker Alexandria Nugent Ted Russell Jill Turner Jill Weisberg Barry Wolfe
2
First year Introduction to discipline and
department

• Critical thinking and questioning
• Coursework, including Neuroscience Survey
• Lab rotations
• Coursework should require analysis/thinking
  rather the regurgitation
• 1st year IPN Core course modules that cover
  breadth of neuroscience, team taught by experts
  in each discipline
• Seminars, summer Neurofest, social events, and
  rotations help to incorporate students into the
  community

3
Introduction to the research enterprise

• Students complete 3 laboratory rotations in the
  first year (starts July 1).
• Students present a short seminar on each rotation
  project to the IPN community.
• Students write a mini-grant proposal and conduct
  a mock NIH study section with full reviews,
  including assigning priority scores.

4
Significant Transition

• Annual Neurolunch seminar presentation
• Once per year, each student, starting in the 2nd
  year, presents to the entire membership.
• May include data from pilot studies, failed
  experiments, recently submitted/published papers,
  ideas for new directions.
• Serves multiple purposes
• Developing/sharpening presentation skills
• Explaining/ defending research to broad audience
• Receiving feedback and constructive criticism
• Self-assessment of progress

5
Significant Transition (contd)

• Comprehensive Exam 2 components
• 1) Written exam cumulative final for the core
  course
• Taken at the end of the first year (NEW).
• Choice of 4/6 questions on didactic material.
• Choice of 2/4 questions requiring analysis of
  papers from the literature.
• Closed book/in-class format
• 2) Oral Exam preparation for dissertation
  research
• Taken in the second year
• Student examined for 1-2 hours by 3 faculty and
  the proposed mentor
• Exam focuses on topic identified by student,
  typically in the area of the proposed thesis
• Certifies that student has knowledge base and
  analytical skills to initiate independent research

6
Dissertation and defense

• Student and mentor confer on dissertation topic.
• Mentor and committee provide guidance in
  selecting focused, hypothesis-driven research
  questions.
• Student typically writes pre-doctoral fellowship
  proposal.
• Student and mentor work closely consultation
  with committee varies.
• When are you finished? When your advisor and
  committee say so . . .
• Oral defense public presentation (1 hour)
  followed by closed examination by committee.

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Other features (Commonalities ?)

• Teaching opportunities (optional)
• Howard Hughes Summer Institute
• For gifted rising sophmores in the biology
  department.
• IPN students teach one or two lectures each in a
  minicourse (can get course credit for teaching).
• Focus is on creating interactive, experimental
  learning.
• Disorders and Diseases of the Brain
• Team taught course for undergraduates
• Completely organized and taught by doctoral
  students from the IPN (can get course credit for
  teaching).
• Students typically teach one or two lectures in
  their area of interest.

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Innovation

• IPN students escort and run tour station
  activities for an annual Brain Awareness Week
  visit
• for a group of 50 7th grade students from a DC
  public school.
• Interactions with visiting seminar series
  speakers
• join the first and second year for a journal
  club discussion of one of the speakers recent
  papers
• have lunch with thesis students in their area of
  research.

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Novel Idea

• Alternative formats (in place of traditional
  comprehensive exam) to mark the completion of
  coursework and transition to thesis research
• Teaching a course
• Oral exam only
• Presentation
• Grant proposal

10
Other Commonalities

• Comprehensive Exams
• Written exam cumulative final exam from the
  core course
• Taken at the end of the first year
• Students answer 4/6 questions on didactic
  material
• Students answer 2/4 questions requiring analysis
  of papers selected from the literature
• Closed book/in-class format
• Oral Exam
• Taken in the second year
• Student examined for 1-2 hours by 3 faculty and
  the proposed mentor
• Exam focuses on topic identified by student,
  typically in the area of the proposed thesis
• Evidence of a breadth and depth of knowledge of
  Neuroscience, techniques, and analytical analysis
  of research questions
• Certifies that student has knowledge base and
  analytical skills to initiate independent research