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

View all events

Neuroscience News

NSP Faculty member, Xiaotang Lu, received the NIH Director's New Innovator Award for her work mapping connections within the brain.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Xiaotang Lu, a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has received the National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award...

Cultivating Affective Resilience: Proof-of-Principle Evidence of Translational Benefits From a Novel Cognitive-Emotional Training Intervention

AbstractAvailable evidence highlights the importance of emotion regulation in psychological well-being. However, translation of the beneficial effects of ER from laboratory to real-life remains scarce. Here, we present proof-of-principle evidence from a novel cognitive-emotional...

Beckman’s newest seed project will expand existing AI models into a framework that analyzes neurological aging.

In its fourth year, the research seed grant program at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology will fund one research project beginning in 2026.Members of the team include, from left, Nien-Pei Tsai...

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...

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...

Faculty Spotlight

Circadian Biologist, Megan Mahoney

How would you describe your background? (I.E. where you are from? How did you first get interested in your area of research? Etc.) I always wanted to do biology. I always found that interesting, I took AP biology in high school and said, “This is what I want to major in.” Even though I went to two different undergrads, I was always a biology major. I guess I would say I say that my Ph.D. and post-docs were all in hormones and biological rhythms. I entered graduate school to do reproduction, but I had a lab that also did biological rhythms, which I knew nothing about. So that’s the area I’ve...

Alumni Spotlight

NSP Alumna Kelsey Hassevoort receives 2022 NORDP Rising Star Award

Join us in congratulating IHSI research development manager and Neuroscience Program alumna, Dr. Kelsey Hassevoort, who recently received the 2022 Rising Star Award from the National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP) for her outstanding, early career contributions to the organization and her strong potential for future contributions to the field of research development. “I...

Publication Spotlight

Canine Brucellosis in Three Littermates: Case Report

Abstract Three adult littermates were diagnosed with Brucella canis, two of which were diagnosed with discospondylitis. The first littermate, a 2-year-old spayed-female Labrador Retriever, was evaluated for progressive episodes of cervical pain, lethargy, reported circling to the right, and a right-sided head tilt. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical spine revealed changes consistent with discospondylitis at C6-C7. MRI of the brain was unremarkable and cerebrospinal fluid analysis was declined. Brucella spp. was isolated from aerobic and...

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.