Univ of Wisconsin-Madison Neuroscience Training Program

1. Univ of Wisconsin-Madison Neuroscience Training Program Stephen Johnson, DVM/PhD Assistant Professor of Comparative Biosciences Ron Kalil, PhD Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Ann Kelley, PhD Professor of Psychiatry Bob Pearce, MD/PhD Professor of Anesthesiology Heather Daniels, Administrator CID Leadership Committee Faculty: Vaishali Bakshi, PhD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Mary Behan, PhD Professor of Comparative Biosciences Cindy Czajkowski, PhD Associate Professor of Physiology Tim Gomez, PhD Assistant Professor of Anatomy Students: Jason Berndt--4th year student Erin Hanlon--4th year student Rebekah Jakel--3rd year student(MD/PhD) Aaron Nelson--2nd year student Terri Schochet--5th year student

2. The Program Founded in 1971 Continuously-funded Training Grant for over 25 years More than 90 faculty in 23 departments Over 160 applications received each year 51 current students 99 Ph.D. degrees granted and over 90% of graduates remain in the biomedical sciences

3. First Year: Introduction to Discipline and Program • Meeting with Student Advisory Committee • New student luncheon • Neuroscience Picnic • Introductory coursework • Neuro610-Cellular and Molecular • Neuro611-Systems • Professional Development • Seminar and subgroup • Chalk Talks

4. Introduction to the Research Enterprise • Chalk talks • 3 rotations (6-8 weeks each) • Choose major prof. • Advisory committee • Meets twice per year before preliminary exam • Once per year thereafter • Begin to collect preliminary data

5. Additional Instruction • Intermediate coursework • Emphasis on acquiring breadth • Advanced coursework • Determined by the advisory committee • Quantitative methods • Ethics subgroup • Teaching experience • Seminar and subgroups

6. Significant Transition • Preliminary exam • Thesis proposal • Outside area paper • Oral defense to advisory committee • Oral presentation of thesis proposal to the NTP

7. Dissertation and Defense • Readiness • Certification forms • Part I. Coursework • Part II. Preliminary Exam • Part III. Teaching, Research Presentation, and Dissertation • Advisory committee decision • The dissertation • Written dissertation • Introduction (prelim thesis proposal) • Body (3-4 published or publishable manuscripts) • Concluding chapter • Public oral presentation • Closed defense

8. Innovation • Professional Development Course • Implemented in 1997 • Seminar/discussion format • Meets 1 hour per week for one semester • Topics include: • Fellowship writing • Oral presentation • Lab selection • Evaluating research articles • Careers

9. Novel Idea • Mentor/student expectations and feedback • Structured written evaluation • Of the student: Evaluation of specific skills, e.g. bench skills, experimental design, writing, oral communication, time management, etc. • Of the mentor: Evaluation of specific mentoring traits, e.g. one-on-one communication, constructive feedback, appropriate motivational pressures, encouragement of outside lab activities, modeling, etc.