School of Graduate Studies

Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Graduate Program

Offering MS, PhD and MD/PhD degrees

The Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Graduate Program is based in the LSU Neuroscience Center of Excellence, a multidisciplinary center. The Neuroscience Center fosters interactions and collaborations among neuroscientists and has created a rich and stimulating environment for graduate education. In addition to pre-doctoral training, post-doctoral training is also available. The program offers pre-doctoral research training in fundamental neurosciences. The program leads to a PhD in neuroscience and is offered by faculty members from twelve departments of the Health Sciences Center and the University of New Orleans. A Master of Science program is also offered. The breadth of research programs of the faculty encompasses all major areas of human cellular and molecular neurosciences including the neurobiology of disease. Training is designed to provide students a broad general knowledge of neuroscience along with more intensive training in a highly specialized topic for academic and/or industrial research or teaching positions. Specific faculty research interests are listed below.

Program

R. Ranney Mize, PhD Nicolas G. Bazan, MD, PhD

The core program includes neuroscience courses (neuroscience, investigative neuroscience, molecular neurobiology, and behavioral neuroscience) and related courses (cell biology, biochemistry, and molecular biology). Rotation through faculty laboratories is required and provides the students with research experience from the beginning of their tenure. Students participate in neuroscience seminars and colloquia, Neuroscience Center retreats, and other science activities sponsored by the LSU Health Sciences Center. Students are encouraged to become involved in the very active Greater New Orleans Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience.

Research Facilities

(left to right) Carmen Canavier, PhD, Song Hong, PhD, Jeffrey Erickson, PhD, Sonia Gasparini, PhD

The faculty laboratories are located in modern buildings with state-of-the-art equipment. In addition, the Health Sciences Center Core Laboratory, which is a service facility, provides oligonucleotide and peptide synthesis and sequencing, amino acid analysis and purification, mass spectrometry, flow cytometry, transgenic facility, gene microarray, two-photon and confocal microscopy, and phospho-imaging. Equipment for high-speed sequencing of DNA is also available. Extensive library facilities are available at the Isché Health Sciences Library of the Health Sciences Center and the Earl K. Long Library at the University of New Orleans. A comprehensive Computer Services Center is available on campus.

Financial Aid

raduate stipends are available from the Neuroscience Center, individual departments, and the LSU Health Sciences Center Graduate Schoool. Supplements can be obtained from faculty grants and other sources for those students who are highly qualified. Fellowships from NIH, NSF, and the Howard Hughes Foundation are also available on a competitive basis. Students who are selected to receive stipends are not required to pay tuition but are responsible for activity fees of approximately $135 per semester. Molecular Biology laboratory.

Dr. Joseph Moerschbaecher (Dean of the Graduate School ), Carmel McDermott (graduate student), and Dr. Susumu Tonegawa (M.I.T.), Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, 1987, on the occasion of the Neuroscience Center Retreat, 2003

Applying

Mattie Hardy, MS, working in the LSU Neuroscience Center Molecular Biology laboratory.

Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent thereof. Students should havetaken courses in biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and computer science. The General Test of the Graduate Record Examinations is required (minimum score 1,200), and the Subject Test in any area of science is recommended. Admission is determined by test scores, written recommendations, a written statement of interests and goals, and a personal interview.

Student Group

Approximately 110 students are enrolled in the LSU Health Sciences Center graduate school, of whom 15-20 are enrolled in the neuroscience program. The Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program accepts up to five students per year.

Location

Jackson Square

The LSU Health Sciences Center is near the heart of historic downtown New Orleans, within 10 minutes of the French Quarter. Exciting yearly events in New Orleans include Mardi Gras and the Jazz and Heritage Festival. The city is famous for its jazz, cuisine, and cultural activities, such as the symphony, museums, and opera. The city is located only 90 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico; the subtropical climate permits a variety of year-round activities. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1.5 million and has five major universities.

Living and Housing

The cost of living in the New Orleans area is generally below the national average. Recently remodeled, a dormitory with an exercise area and health facility is available on the Health Sciences Center campus. Living accommodations are also available in the historic Garden District, Uptown, and the Warehouse District, all of which offer distinctive Greek Revival and Victorian architecture. Additional accommodations can also be found throughout the city at reasonable cost. Health care is available on campus through the Student Health Center of the LSU Medical School.

Center-Based Faculty

Nicolas G. Bazan, MD, PhD
Director and Boyd Professor and Ernest C. and Yvette C. Villere Professor of Ophthalmology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Neurology and Neuroscience
Synaptic signaling in neuronal plasticity and oxidative stress and neuroprotection; neuronal and retinal cell survival

Haydee E.P. Bazan, PhD
Professor, Ophthalmology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Neuroscience
Molecular mechanisms of inflammation and wound healing in the eye

Chu Chen, PhD
Assistant Professor, Otorhinolaryngology and Neuroscience
Neuromodulation of ionic channels and synaptic plasticity in hippocampal neurons

Jeffrey Erickson, PhD
Associate Professor, Pharmacology and Neuroscience
Molecular and cellular biology of vesicular neurotransmitter transporters

Hamilton Farris, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Otorhinolaryngology and Neuroscience
Underlying mechanisms of auditory filtering and complex processing in central auditory nuclei and auditory hair cells

Sonia Gasparini, PhD
Research Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Anatomy, and Neuroscience
Dendritic excitability and synaptic integration in hippocampal and entorhinal cortex neurons

Song Hong, PhD
Assistant Professor Ophthalmology and Neuroscience.
Lipidomic pathways that impact neurological and retinal disease, and the links to genomes and proteomes; molecular and cellular mechanisms for the bioactions of lipid mediators

Walter J. Lukiw, PhD
Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology and Neuroscience
Alzheimer's disease, gene transcription, neuro-toxicology, molecular biology of sleep and wakefulness

Houhui Xia, PhD
Assistant Professor, Cell Biology and Anatomy and Neuroscience
Molecular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity: NMDA receptor signaling and gene transcription

In addition, jointly appointed faculty from several departments of LSU Health Sciences Center and the University of New Orleans host neuroscience students in laboratory rotations and may serve as Thesis Directors.

Information

Nicolas G. Bazan, MD, PhD
R. Ranney Mize, PhD
Co-Directors
Neuroscience Center of Excellence
2020 Gravier Street, Suite D
New Orleans, Louisiana 70112
Telephone: 504-599-0909
Fax: 504-568-5801
Coordinator: 504-599-0835
nbazan@lsuhsc.edu
rmize@lsuhsc.edu