Areas of Research

Research in the neurosciences has become increasingly interdisciplinary; it is not possible to understand the nervous system by focusing on a narrow area of expertise. A principle underlying the graduate education offered by the University of Utah Neuroscience Program is that students approach a problem from a very broad perspective. This approach includes the application of a diversity of techniques, which range across molecular biology, electrophysiology, classical embryology and behavioral protocols. These diverse techniques are unified by two intellectual approaches, which have made the University of Utah famous: the study of human disease and a tradition of excellence in the field of genetics.

We have chosen to highlight five specific areas of research in neuroscience to give a prospective student the flavor of the type of interdisciplinary research opportunities that are available in our Program. We believe these particular areas will provide exceptional opportunities for the interested student. These five highlighted areas are:

• Developmental Neuroscience
• Molecular Neuroscience
• Neurobiology of Disease
• Brain and Behavior
• Cellular Neuroscience

There are many research areas of the Utah Neuroscience faculty which are not represented in the five categories above, but we have chosen these particular topics since we believe that there are exceptional opportunities for students interested in the five highlighted areas.  A list of faculty and their departmental affiliation follows each description found here: Training Faculty and Affilate Faculty.