(University of Pittsburgh)

• BIOSC 1904:  Biological Sciences, Undergraduate Honors Research

• NROSCI 1901:  Neuroscience, Independent Study

• CHEM 1710:  Chemistry, Undergraduate Research or CHEM 1902: Chemistry, Directed Study

• PSY 1903:  Psychology, Directed Individual Research              

       OR

      (Carnegie Mellon University)

• BSC 03-445:  Biological Sciences, Undergraduate Research

• CMY 09-445:  Chemistry, Undergraduate Research

• PSY 85-507:  Psychology, Research

2. Research-Oriented Course Work - Students will engage in research- oriented course work, either in the student's area of concentration or other relevant departments. If they have not already done so, fellows in this program are urged to complete at least four upper-level or honors courses that provide research-oriented information, background, and perspective. One specific requirement is a course in statistics to be taken at either the University of Pittsburgh (e.g., Applied Statistics - Stat. 1000) or at Carnegie Mellon University (e.g., Statistics for Lab Sciences - 36-247 or Statistical Reasoning - 36-201). These courses should be selected with the advice of the students' preceptors and academic advisors and be consistent with departmental and university requirements for an undergraduate major in neuroscience, biology, chemistry, or psychology. Students who have yet to take such research- focused courses are free to select two courses each term from among a range of courses relevant to the goals of this program and consistent with their undergraduate majors.

3. Required Research Courses (specially suited to this program) - These core courses have been specially developed to meet the educational goals of this program. They are a required part of the curriculum and in the case of NROSCI 1032, some prerequisite coursework is stipulated (described below).

     A.  Functional Organization of the Human Nervous System      

          (NROSCI 1032)
           Students will meet twice per week during the Fall term, for 1.5 hours per

           meeting.  The course focuses on the basic and clinical neurobiology of

           human behavior, such as learning, memory, sleep, dreaming, 

           movement, conscious- ness, body image, language, aging, visual 

           hallucinations, and mood and thought disorders. It is conducted by two

           faculty members -- a laboratory scientist and a clinical scientist.

           Both of the following courses are standard prerequisites for 

           neuroscience majors:

• NROSCI 1000 or NROSCI 1003 (Honors): Introduction to Neuroscience  and

• NROSCI 1011: Functional Neuroanatomy.

           For non-neuroscience majors, the following courses may serve as

           substitute prerequisites:

• PSY 85-219: Biological Foundations of Behavior (Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University); or PSY 05-05: Introduction to Biopsychology (Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh);  and

• NROSCI 1011: Functional Neuroanatomy. Concurrent registration in NROSCI 1011and NROSCI 1032 is possible. (A non-neuroscience major who has not completed NROSCI 1011 in advance of NROSCI 1032 will be permitted to enroll in NROSCI 1032 as an auditor only.)

These prerequisite courses are intended to adequately prepare all fellowship students for the advanced seminar in functional neuroanatomy. If a potential applicant anticipates that completion of these prerequisite courses will not be possible prior to application, it is important to contact the Program Director 

(Dr. Gretchen Haas) at the address or telephone number listed below. Potential applicants from other institutions should also contact the Program Director to discuss equivalent courses at their home institution that can serve as substitute prerequisites.

     B.  Contemporary Issues in Mental Health Research   

          (NROSCI 1047) 
          Students will meet once each week during the Spring term, for 2 hours, 

          to gain an overview of major mental disorders as well as important

          clinical research issues in the field of mental health. The course will

          include an historical overview of psychiatry, and introduce and discuss

          the basic vocabulary of psychiatric phenomena and the psychiatric

          classification system. Four major categories of disorder (psychotic

          disorders, anxiety and the "neurotic" disorders, mood disorders, and

          childhood psychiatric disorders) will then be reviewed and key research

          issues will be addressed in each of these areas.  The course will include

          live case presentations, supervised field visits, lectures, and group

          discussions aimed at active student participation. 

4.  A clinically-oriented summer program - consisting of a lecture series, and clinical rounds.

     A. Lectures - Students will attend twice per week scientific

         program presentations by principal investigators and research

         staff.  Students will hear and discuss lectures given by various faculty

         members, and possibly make visits to selected clinical research

         laboratories. 

     B. Clinical Rounds - Three times per week, students will attend Clinical

         Rounds at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic with the hospital

         teaching faculty members.  These rounds will include visits to inpatient,

         outpatient, and emergency services for children, adolescents and adults

         with affective disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder, Alzheimer's

         disease, attention deficit disorders, eating disorders, autism, and

         others.  

During the summer, fellows will also continue work on their research projects, and participate in the monthly Evening Seminar Series (see item #6, below).  Students will make the final presentations of their research findings in late July.  

5. Basic or Clinical Research Lectures - Students will be expected to attend at least four lectures each term by regular and visiting faculty of participating departments.  There are several different lecture series planned by the various departments and centers, including: the Center for Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh; the Lecture Series at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic; the Departments of Psychology at both universities; and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC) of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. 

6. Special Activities  - specially designed for NIMH fellows.

     A.  Evening Seminar Series

          An important component of the NIMH Undergraduate Research Training

          Fellowship Program is the series of evening seminars, held monthly

          throughout the year.  The seminars are designed to focus on topics that

          are not usually covered by the students' ordinary academic activities,

          and which involve senior investigators, with well-established research

          programs.  We aim to provide opportunities for the students to become

          familiar with issues in biomedical and behavioral research, and to be

          exposed to a wide range of scientific interests of both the clinical and

          basic science faculty.  We will discuss issues relevant to the students'

          current and future research, education, and career choices and plans. 

     B.  Advisory Meetings

          Throughout the year, students will be expected to meet regularly with

          their preceptors, as well as the Director and/or Co-Director of the

          program, in order to review their progress and problems, seek

          information relevant to their career plans, and discuss issues that may

          arise.