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SUN Program c/o Brenda Chiappinelli
LSUHSC Neuroscience Center of Excellence SUN Program
2020 Gravier Street, 8th Floor
New Orleans, LA 70112

The deadline to submit applications is March 31, 2023.

Introduction

The Summer Undergraduate Neuroscience (SUN) program offers Louisiana's undergraduate students hands-on experiences in laboratory research and education in the neurosciences, with the goal of stimulating an interest in medicine, neuroscience, and research as a career.

During the past decade, the Neuroscience Center has become a driving force behind the development of the neurosciences at the LSU Health Sciences Center.

Overall, the mission of the Center is to contribute to the creation of an environment of high standards, where investigations on the nervous system and the diseases that affect it are conducted. To this end, the identification and recruitment of outstanding faculty to build a critical mass of expertise is already a tangible asset.

Objectives

The purpose of this program is to attract top undergraduate students in Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Psychology, and related fields who would be interested in having summer experience in the basic and fundamental sciences of the nervous system. Students are expected to attend formal lectures in such areas as human genetics and molecular and developmental neurobiology, as well as to carry out research in one of the laboratories of the faculty of the Neuroscience Center of Excellence.

Highlights of Program

The core program includes specialized neuroscience lectures (investigative neuroscience, molecular neurobiology, behavioral neuroscience, and cell biology). Summer research at faculty laboratories provides the students with research experience. Students are expected to attend the neuroscience seminar series and many other brain science activities sponsored by the LSU Health Sciences Center.

Impact on Education

The Neuroscience Summer Undergraduate Training Program at the LSU Health Sciences Center, Neuroscience Center of Excellence, is a multidisciplinary program offering research training in the fundamental neurosciences. Training is designed to provide undergraduate students with a broad general knowledge of neuroscience.

The undergraduate participants have attended Louisiana Colleges and Universities.

Anticipated Benefits

Since its inception, the Neuroscience Center of Excellence has become a nucleus of academic achievement and contributes to attracting out-of-state businesses to New Orleans, as well as distinguished experts and private and federal funding to support research. High-quality, intensive research is our best hope for discovering why brain diseases occur and to conquer them.

Former SUN Program Participants

2021 SUN Students and Mentors

2020 SUN Students and Mentors

SUN 2020

Standing (from Left to Right):

Vicente Bermudez, Postdoctoral Fellow, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca Institute for Biochemical Research, Argentina

Sophie Marathonitis, LSU Health New Orleans, IDP Graduate Program

Alexander Murphy, De La Salle High school, (Senior-HS)

Parker Byers, Vanderbilt University, (Junior-Neuroscience)

Connor Polk, University of Notre Dame, IN

Neehar Desai, Brown University, Providence, RI

Ellen Terry, Tulane University, Junior (pre-med)

Sitting:

Dr. Jeffrey Erickson

Victoria Hart, Tulane University, Junior (pre-med)

Dr. Nicolas G. Bazan

Twila L. Gaston, LSU Medical Student

Surjyadipta Bhattacharjee

2019 SUN Students and Mentors

NCE 2019 SUN students group photo 072519

2018 SUN Students and Mentors

From left to right: Sayantani 'Misty' Bhattacharjee, Dr. Jorgelina Calandria, Sophia Marathonitis, Dr. Pranab Mukherjee,
Jacy Haynes, Katelyn Robillard, Fernando Blank, Kenneth Terry III, Dr. Nicolas G. Bazan, Dr. Aram Asatryan,
Dr. Ludmila Belayev, Randon Heim, Hadiya Rasheed, Dr. William Gordon, Madeline Fahey, Brenda Chiappinelli,
Ayrian Le Beauf and Dr. Hamilton Farris

2017 SUN Students

SUN group for web 72 dpi

First row: Nikolai Kurganov, Ludmila Belayev, Angela Barattini, Christine Gambino, Sarah Yanofsky,
Nicolas Bazan, James Li, Whitney Walkoski, Andrew Williams,Brenda Chiappinelli

Back row: William Gordon, Marie-Audrey Kautzmann, Pranab Mukherjee, Aram Asatryan, Caitlin Leslie,
Ham Farris, Martha Dreyer, Shawn Marcell

Dr. Aram Asatryan coordinated the presentations and discussion

Link for 2017 graduation pictures

2016 SUN Students

Left to right: David Yang, Joshua Lott, Brenda Chiappinelli, Elizabeth Hill, Megan Eakin,
Clinton Givens, Zoe Piccus, Garren Mitchell, Peace Ekpo, Kenneth Terry II, Grace Taffaro,
Scott Sullivan, Dr. Nicolas G. Bazan, Larissa Penn, Mariah Allen, Ke’Yon Jones, Rebehah Travis,
Krishna Shah, Parker Byers, Traci Mai, Gregory Marks, Uday Patel, Zevie Davis, and Zachary Sachar

2016 Graduation Pictures

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