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Neuroscience Graduate Program

The NSP at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is an interdisciplinary program of study and research leading to the doctoral degree.

We offer a rigorous yet flexible program designed to foster the growth of the student through research activities, close interactions with faculty, and exposure to top neuroscientists through our seminar series and attendance at professional meetings.

Neuroscience Program Events Calendar

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Neuroscience News

Cultivating Affective Resilience: Proof-of-Principle Evidence of Translational Benefits From a Novel Cognitive-Emotional Training Intervention

AbstractAvailable evidence highlights the importance of emotion regulation in psychological well-being. However, translation of the beneficial effects of ER from laboratory to real-life remains scarce. Here, we present proof-of-principle evidence from a novel cognitive-emotional...

Beckman’s newest seed project will expand existing AI models into a framework that analyzes neurological aging.

In its fourth year, the research seed grant program at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology will fund one research project beginning in 2026.Members of the team include, from left, Nien-Pei Tsai...

Honey bee larvae can't smell - and that's actually a good thing

BEESEarth.com (Telluride, Colo., July 16) — Gene Robinson, Illinois entomology professor and executive director and CEO of the Discovery Partners Institute, led a study seeking to understand if a young bee never has to find its own food, does it still need to smell the world around it? “Larval...

Artificial Intelligence: Enabling More Sustainable Labs

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCETechnology Networks (with audio; Suffolk, England, May 6) — Jimeng Sun, a computer science professor at the U. of I., used training data from over 8,000 past trials to predict the outcome of more than 3,400 recent drug studies in a prediction model. “All this...

Steve Maren, Director, Beckman Institute

The surprising scientific benefits behind memory manipulation

Today we know that our brains re-write our memories each time we recall them, but what if we could control that process? We're exploring the science of memory manipulation, which could transform treatments for Alzheimer's, PTSD, and more. To answer our questions, KCBS Radio news anchor Steve Scott...

Researchers receive $2.7M NIH grant to investigate effects of phthalate exposure on neurodevelopment

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Faculty Spotlight

Mark E. Nelson, Molecular and Integrative Physiology

Mark E. Nelson served as the Associate Director for Student Affairs and the NSP Liason for the SfN Chapter in Champaign. Mark was honored at the End of Year Awards and Recognition Reception on April 30th with a small glass trophy in thanks for his time and service as well as in acknowledgment of his upcoming retirement. After 28 years at the University of Illinois, Mark will be moving on to spend time in another place he loves to be, nature. He will be hiking the trails out west. Check out his spotlight to see the latest Beckman article featuring Dr. Nelson!

Alumni Spotlight

Scott Irwin

What field in Neuroscience did you study? I was fortunate enough to work in a laboratory where interesting questions were pursued no matter the field or technique needed to answer them. While the overall field was learning, memory, and neuroplasticity, this laboratory studied it with molecular, biological, anatomically, electrophysiological, and fMRI techniques, and I am sure I left some out. My specific focus was on the translation of mRNA at synapses in response to synaptic activity, and it happened to fortuitously overlap with a common clinical condition. Fortuitous for...

Publication Spotlight

Who cares? An integrative approach to understanding the evolution of behavioural plasticity in parental care

Abstract Natural selection acts on underlying mechanisms to fine-tune expression of behaviour across scales – within individuals, among individuals, between sexes and across species. The inherently environmentally responsive nature of behaviour, or behavioural plasticity, may bias how behaviour evolves. However, studies of plasticity rarely integrate patterns across levels of biological organization and timescales, limiting our understanding of how mechanisms of individual behavioural variation translate to patterns of evolutionary diversification. Here, we advocate...

South Quad - McFarland Carillon Memorial Bell Tower

Land Acknowledgement

As a land-grant institution, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has a responsibility to acknowledge the historical context in which it exists. We are currently on the lands of the Peoria, Kaskaskia, Peankashaw, Wea, Miami, Mascoutin, Odawa, Sauk, Mesquaki, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Chickasaw Nations. It is necessary for us to acknowledge these Native Nations and for us to work with them as we move forward as an institution with Native peoples at the core of our efforts.

More about the practice of land acknowledgements at the University of Illinois.