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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.

Neuroscience Program Events Calendar

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Neuroscience News

Bees on hive
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...
AI Image with fingers pointing
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...
Howard Gritton and Paul Bonthuis
Researchers receive $2.7M NIH grant to investigate effects of phthalate exposure on neurodevelopment
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NSP Graduate Student Maxine He
Monitoring stress from the surface of the body 
"Today, my laboratory looks more like a scene from a sci-fi film than a psychology research space. Wires snake across tables, sensors lay carefully arranged on trays, and a bucket of ice water sits in the corner, quietly waiting its turn." Manuel Hernandez is an NSP faculty member and...
Running brain on treadmill
Can Doing Crosswords, Puzzles, and Other Games Really Help You Stay Sharp?
Engaging your brain can have benefits—but not all mental exercises are created equal.Can Brain Games Really Preserve Cognition?When it comes to your brain, there’s some truth to the saying “use it or lose it,” experts said. “Your brain is an organ, and if you’re not using all parts...
Neha Gothe
Faculty Spotlight

Yoga and Brain Researcher, Neha Gothe

How would you describe your background? My bachelors and masters training is in psychology. My master’s was specifically in counseling psychology and I practiced as a counselor for a couple of years. I used to be an athlete—I played tennis— and that is how I was always interested in exercise and sport. I decided why not bring exercise, sport, and psychology all together? I started looking for academic programs that examine exercise psychology or exercise science. In India, unfortunately, this area of studying is not quite developed. So I came to the US to pursue my Ph.D. in kinesiology. That...
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Belagodu
Alumni Spotlight

Amogh Belagodu

Career Development What field in Neuroscience did you study? Behavioral Neuroscience. What about the research process did you enjoy? Really just the discovery and learning process. You get to ask questions about the most advanced organ ever created and try to solve it. Even negative results yielded information, so it was always an exciting journey. Did you prefer gathering the data, brainstorming its meaning, the writing process, defending your research, presenting your research, etc. Brainstorming and presenting...
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SARS-CoV-2
Publication Spotlight

Post-Translational Modifications Optimize the Ability of SARS-CoV-2 Spike for Effective Interaction with Host Cell Receptors

Abstract Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike glycoprotein is the prime target for vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutic antibodies against the virus. While anchored in the viral envelope, for effective virulence, the spike needs to maintain structural flexibility to recognize the host cell surface receptors and bind to them, a property that can heavily depend upon the dynamics of the unresolved domains, most prominently the stalk. Construction of the complete, membrane-bound spike model and the description of its dynamics are critical steps in understanding...
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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.