Transcript Neuroscience Program Michigan State University Joe Lonstein Yanny Lau Deliberations so far: Who participated? two meetings with same focus opposite ends of campus 18/41 total faculty (44%) 16/31

Neuroscience Program
Michigan State University
Joe Lonstein
Yanny Lau
Deliberations so far: Who
participated?
two meetings with same focus
opposite ends of campus
18/41 total faculty (44%)
16/31 training faculty (52%)
2/12 post-docs (17%)
11/22 students (50%)
Deliberations so far: Role
and Mission of the Program
For what careers should we be
educating students?
implicit expectation for academic careers
need for exposure to and acceptance of
varied choices
students can’t expect individualized
alternative training
alternative training can’t be at expense of
fundamentals
alternative training in conflict with research
grants?
Deliberations so far: Role
and Mission of the Program
What are the particular strengths of the
program?
Students
broad-based curriculum
varied levels of analysis
laboratory course
comprehensive exam format
community within and across depts.
Deliberations so far: Role
and Mission of the Program
What are the particular strengths of the
program?
Faculty
long history of successful training
students in same lab may be in different
programs
collaborative opportunities
clinical opportunities
sense of community
Role and Mission of Program
To be addressed:
What differentiates us from other
academic units?
How should our program contribute to
the academic mission of MSU?
Role and Mission of Program
What qualities should the program look
for in a first year student?
What differences would you expect to
see between first-, third-, and fifth-year
students?
Stewardship of the Discipline
How do we teach students to ask and
frame important questions?
What do our students learn about
history of neuroscience and what
history should they know?
Stewardship of the Discipline
Does program encourage students to
have respectful understanding of other
fields?
How do we train students to
communicate the excitement and
promise of neuroscience to the public?
What ethical standards are important
for our graduates to hold?
Program Elements
We will assess importance, effectiveness,
value, and how to improve the current:
required courses
lab rotation
research forum
colloquium series
training in responsible conduct in science
dissertation research
Is our program missing any important
elements?
Design Experiments (what
needs more attention?)
Dissertation
What constitutes successful defense of a
dissertation?
Student recruitment
What can we do to improve diversity and
quality?
Student retention
Is there a problem?
Mentoring and Advising
How can mentoring be monitored and
assessed?
Design Experiments (what
needs more attention?)
Research
Are all students receiving equivalent
research training? Does it matter?
Curriculum
Are required and elective courses in line
with other neuroscience programs ?
Examinations
What skills are and should be assessed?
How do students learn these skills?
Critical issues to be
addressed
What is the most effective way to train
researchers in a biomedical area that
requires investigation and integration
across multiple levels of analysis?
How to structure early years of training to
accommodate students with widely varying
undergraduate backgrounds?
Critical issues to be
addressed
What are the critical career survival
skills for a neuroscientist, and what is
the best way to teach them?
Skills common to all disciplines
Skills particular to biomedical
sciences
The art of collaboration (receives
little attention)
Critical issues to be
addressed
How does a training program balance
the need to provide a broad-based,
multi-disciplinary, multi-level of analysis
foundation in the nervous system,
specialized research training,
professional socialization, and
professional skills development, with
the goal of keeping the degree program
to about 5 years in length?
Critical issues to be
addressed
What are the best strategies for
maintaining faculty interest and
participation in an interdepartmental program when the
rewards that motivate faculty are
held by departments?
Critical issues to be
addressed
How will we know if we’ve done a good
job?
Development of a process for
ongoing evaluation
Identification of appropriate
measures of success for different
career tracks that a student might
take after doctoral training (academia
vs industry vs government)