Neuroscience Education and Research: Academic Programs and Professional Development

Neuroscience, despite being a young field, is one of the fastest-emerging interdisciplinary areas of science which allows scientists from different fields to work together. In India, institutions such as the Centre for NeuroScience (CNS) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham provide extensive opportunities for research and specialized medical training.

The PhD Program at the Centre for NeuroScience, IISc Bangalore

Research at CNS is highly interdisciplinary and reflects the diverse backgrounds of the faculty themselves. Students at CNS are exposed to cutting-edge neuroscience research through the CNS faculty, whose interests span the gamut from molecular to systems and cognitive neuroscience. The department offers world-class facilities and equipment together with a vibrant environment for research that consists of journal clubs, seminars and workshops.

The CNS PhD program is designed to provide a solid foundation of neuroscience for students with absolutely no prior background/experience in neuroscience. To help students make an informed decision, the following structure is implemented:

• Incoming first-year PhD students are not pre-assigned to an advisor, but are instead asked to take the entire first semester to decide on the lab that they wish to join for their PhD.
• They are encouraged to talk to the faculty & students in each lab and do at least 3 lab rotations of their preference.
• They are required to take two core courses: Systems Neuroscience and Molecular and Cellular Basis of Behaviour.
• Students also choose from elective courses such as Cognitive Neuroscience and Developmental Neuroscience depending on their interests.

Students make the final choice of their thesis advisor/laboratory by the end of the first semester. PhD students are provided with a monthly stipend (per institute norms) and with accommodation in the student hostels at IISc.

Admissions and Interview Process

Given the interdisciplinary nature of neuroscience, the center welcomes students from diverse backgrounds. Admissions to the Phd program are typically announced in January with an application deadline in March or April. Candidates are then shortlisted for the interviews which typically are held in May or June. We conduct two rounds of interviews for shortlisted candidates. Apart from questions related to your undergraduate and graduate curriculum, we expect you to be comfortable with basic mathematics and analytical thinking. We also expect that you would have some basic knowledge of neuroscience, that reflects your motivation and interest in the topic.

B. Sc. Neuro Electro Physiology at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham

Neuroelectrophysiology is a fast-developing field in medical science that operates the crossing of neurosciences, cellular engineering and signal processing. This course enables the neurotechniologist to perform and interpret electrophysiology procedures. The students will acquire skills to assess the patient and plan various electro diagnostic procedures and implement them. It is an exclusive course in which students have training in Sleep studies, Autonomic function tests, pre-surgical evaluation of epilepsy, EEG, and various evoked potentials.

Program Requirements and Selection

As neuroelectrophysiology is an integral part of neurology, the neuroelectrophysiologists are in high demand in hospitals in India and abroad. For all specialties, selection for candidates will be based on the rank obtained in the Amrita Entrance Examination.

Professional Symposia and Networking

The School of Biology, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram organizes an online symposium "Synapse" in collaboration with IISER, Tirupati. This virtual symposium aims to bring neuroscience/neurobiology researchers together with a diverse audience on one platform for networking and visibility. It brings together a diverse assortment of neuroscientists from India and across the world.