The interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior is a university-wide training program, with faculty members from numerous departments on both campuses.  Students whose primary interest is broad training in neuroscience may choose to apply directly to this program.  Students seeking training in other related areas of biomedical science, in more general cell, molecular or disease-based programs, should view the Coordinated Doctoral Program in Biomedical Sciences at Columbia University Medical Center that includes four thematic programs in addition to Neurobiology and Behavior.

In the Program in Neurobiology and Behavior, students take courses in a variety of the neurobiological and behavioral disciplines such as biochemistry, biophysics, brain imaging, computational biology, cell and molecular biology, cognitive science, developmental biology, neuroethology, physiology, pharmacology, systems analysis and theoretical neuroscience.

Neuroscience faculty members strive to stimulate the imagination and critical abilities of students and to nurture and encourage their development as independent scientists. Students are closely advised by the Program Directors on choosing research mentors and courses. Students work in a research setting in which collaboration between investigators with different areas of expertise is the norm. Students are encouraged to develop a flexible, multidisciplinary approach to research to allow them to adapt readily to new research methodologies and opportunities as they become available throughout their careers. 

The Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior has three Nobel Prize winning mentors:  Eric Kandel, M.D.,  in physiology or medicine in 2000 for his research concerning signal transduction in the nervous system, Richard Axel, M.D., in physiology or medicine in 2004 for his research on odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system, and most recently Martin Chalfie, Ph.D., in chemistry in 2008 for his research on the green fluorescent protein, GFP. All three Nobel Laureates are easily accessible, and work closely with their students.

While the Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior focuses primarily on problems in basic biological sciences, close association with clinical researchers creates an atmosphere in which students are encouraged to consider the implications of their research for understanding the neurobiology of disease. Clinically relevant research topics cover the spectrum of animal models for human disease including addiction, aggressivity, Alexander's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, benign age-related memory loss, cerebral palsy, Charcot-Marie Tooth disease, depression, dystonia, fragile-X syndrome, impulsivity, lissencephaly, Parkinson's disease, Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome, schizophrenia, spinal cord trauma, and spinal muscular atrophy.

Columbia University is one of twelve institutions to be awarded the new Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the NIH. Within this program, the TRANSFORM (TRaining And Nurturing Scientists FOr Research that is Multidisciplinary) award offers structured training and practical exposure to clinical or translational research for students currently enrolled in basic science PhD programs. Three of our students participated in this program in 2007.

Advising
Upon entering the program, each student is assigned one of the three program co-directors to advise him or her on coursework and rotation selection. These meetings occur at the end of each semester and the summer, and at any other time during the year that the student requests. The advisor helps the student with the selection of an appropriate curriculum, monitors the progress of the student, and generally ensures that the student receives proper administrative assistance in housing and health insurance. Once the student has chosen a thesis advisor and has passed the qualifying exam, a thesis committee is formed to help guide the student through his or her thesis research. For more information visit our Student Advising section.

Curriculum
A rich variety of courses are available; those given within the Program as well as other graduate courses in the University in Psychology, Physics, Philosophy, Chemistry, Biostatistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Electrical and Biomedical Engineering and in the humanities. Each student’s education is tailored to his or her background and research interests.

Research Opportunities
Students in the program are able to perform research in virtually any area of basic or translational neuroscience. This breadth of opportunity is enhanced by the fact that the departmental homes of the various faculty members in the program are distributed across several different departments in the university (within the departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Biological Sciences , Genetics and Development , Neurology , Neuroscience, Pathology and Cell Biology , Pharmacology , Physiology and Cellular Biophysics , Psychiatry , Psychology , Radiology and Statistics). In addition, most faculty members in the program belong to one or more partially overlapping neuroscience-related centers or institutes, which serve to enhance collaborative research within different subfields of neuroscience. They include: the Center for Theoretical Neuroscience ; the Kavli Institute for Brain Science (neural circuit analysis) ; the Lieber Center for Schizophrenia Research ; the Mahoney-Keck Center for Brain and Behavior (systems and cognitive neuroscience); the Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease ; the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology ; and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain . All of these organizations provide rich opportunities for graduate research, including collaborations within and outside of Columbia and seminars by visiting scientists.

Upon entering the program, students engage in lab rotations , generally lasting a semester. The rotations are designed to broaden the practical and theoretical knowledge of the student, to help the student to choose a dissertation mentor, and to facilitate the student's intergration within the social and academic framework of the training program. Students are free to choose any laboratory in the program, or, where appropriate, in the University, in which to do a laboratory rotation. The rotations are initiated by the students according to their individual interests. The rotations typically last one semester, and students generally engage in three rotations during the first two years in the program. A particular effort is made to ensure that the student not only learns technical skills, but is made aware, through participation in lab meetings as well as personal mentoring, of the larger theoretical issues that are involved in the research.

The research projects of our students are published in top-tier journals, often as first-authored papers. In the last ten years eight students have graduated "With Distinction", an honor reserved for the top 10% of graduates at Columbia each year. Two received the Medical Center Dean's award for the outstanding PhD Dissertation in the Biomedical Sciences. In addition, our students have competed successfully for fellowships and awards at the national level.

Our faculty mentors have a broad range of research interests and expertise. For a listing by name, research interest, or experimental approach, visit the Faculty Listing.

Seminars and Special Lectures
The Program in Neurobiology and Behavior sponsors a weekly seminar that alternates between either work-in-progress seminars by its faculty, students, and postdoctoral fellows, or seminars presented by invited speakers from throughout the country. Two annual memorial lectureships are given by distinguished neurobiologists invited from throughout the international neurobiological community to honor two past Columbia faculty members: W. Alden Spencer and Stephen Schuetze. The program also sponsors a biennial retreat, where students, faculty and a keynote speaker present their work, and interact, at a meeting site away from New York City.

Teaching
There is no teaching requirement. However, students are strongly encouraged to teach, and are welcome to serve as Teaching Assistants in the neurobiology survey lecture course or in the medical school human neuroanatomy laboratory.

Boot Camp
We operate a "Boot Camp" for incoming students at the beginning of the first fall semester.  Students are introduced to a variety of techniques used in neuroscience research through both lectures and laboratory demonstrations.  Topics included basic methods in microscopy, biochemistry, electrophysiology, genetics, computational neuroscience, behavior, imaging, anatomy, and cell culture.  Dates for 2008 will be announced in the Spring.

Public Outreach
Our students are very engaged in outreach to the general public: One group visits The School (the elementary/middle school run by Columbia), during Brain Awareness week. Other groups engage in year-long mentoring program at Mott Hall middle school. In the spring, volunteers make weekly classroom visits designed to help students design and execute their science fair projects. In addition, a course in science writing for public information is planned, with noted science writers and radio commentators in the New York area as lecturers.

Housing and Financial Support
All students making adequate progress toward the degree receive full financial support that covers tuition and fees plus a stipend for living expenses throughout their entire graduate career.

University-owned apartments, ranging from studios to shared two or three-bedroom apartments, are available adjacent to either the Health Sciences Campus or the Morningside Heights Campus. Couples' housing is an option at both locations. All such housing is heavily subsidized by the university. Alternatively, for those who wish to live off-campus, public transportation to either campus is readily available from throughout the five boroughs of New York City, as well as from suburban New Jersey or New York.