Exceptional opportunities
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.
Graduate Admissions Faculty by Department

Neuroscience Program Events Calendar

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Neuroscience News

​​​​​​​ Keerthana Hogirala (Photo provided.)
LAS alumna receives Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans
LAS alumna receives Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans Keerthana Hogirala, who immigrated from India, prepares for a promising career Keerthana Hogirala was born in Tirupati, India. When she was 6 years old, her family moved to Michigan, and when she was 9 years old she moved to...
Octopus in tank
From 'CyberSlug' to 'CyberOctopus': New AI explores, remembers, seeks novelty, overcomes obstacles
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — By giving artificial intelligence simple associative learning rules based on the brain circuits that allow a sea slug to forage — and augmenting it with better episodic memory, like that of an octopus — scientists have built an AI that can navigate new environments, seek rewards,...
cicadas on tree branch
Chorus or cacophony? Cicada song hits some ears harder than others
Excerpt: Tinnitus problems, too Fatima Husain is a professor and neuroscientist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and studies how the brain processes sound. She said people with tinnitus may also struggle with cicada song. Tinnitus, a ringing or other noise in the ears, is a person’...
Dendrobates tinctorius - dyeing dart frog
Some frogs tap their tiny toes when they see prey
AMPHIBIANS Earth.com (Telluride, Colo., May 29) — Scientists have long been intrigued by the toe-tapping behavior of amphibians. While this phenomenon is well-documented, its purpose has remained shrouded in mystery. Researchers at the U. of I. focused their attention on the dyeing poison...
Fit group of people using exercise bike together
A Wild New Study Sheds Light On Why Exercise Is So Good For Our Brains
Researchers unearth exercise secrets from a biomolecular soup of synthetic innervated muscle tissue. It’s no secret that regular exercise is great for the body and the brain...

Recent Award Winners

Auerbach lab members photo

Faculty Spotlight: Benjamin D Auerbach, Assistant Professor

Benjamin D. Auerbach, Assistant Professor by Virginia Wright Benjamin D. Auerbach is an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, and he studies how experience-dependent plasticity influences perception and behavior. Auerbach comes from what he describes as “a family of scientists”. “Both my mom and my dad were academic researchers in biology, so I got exposed to science and research in a lab setting at an early age,” he shared. While he now jokes that he is “just continuing the family business,” he initially pursued an undergraduate degree in history. “...

Stephanie Matt, Research Assistant Professor, Drexel University

Alumni Spotlight: Stephanie Matt

Stephanie Matt, Class of 2018 by Virginia Wright As of July 2023, Stephanie Matt is a Research Assistant Professor at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After five years of working as a postdoctoral researcher for Drexel, she recently won an NIH Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) to investigate the role of antidepressants in HIV infection and inflammation in myeloid cells such as macrophages and microglia. Receiving this grant provided not only mentored support for her research career but also a place within Drexel University faculty. “It...

3D Brain Model

Recently Published: Looking for transfer in all the wrong places: How intellectual abilities can be enhanced through diverse experience among older adults

Elizabeth A.L. Stine-Morrow, Ilber E. Manavbasi, Shukhan Ng, Giavanna S. McCall, Aron K. Barbey, Daniel G. Morrow, "Looking for transfer in all the wrong places: How intellectual abilities can be enhanced through diverse experience among older adults," Intelligence, Volume 104, 2024, 101829, ISSN 0160-2896, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2024.101829. Abstract: Research with cognitive...

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.