Contact UsThe Jointly Sponsored Institutional Predoctoral Training Program in the Neurosciences supports broad and fundamental, early-stage graduate research training in the neurosciences. This initiative began in 1997 to provide support during the early years of graduate training, the first and second years, typically before full-time thesis research begins. Trainees are expected to be participants in a formal predoctoral curriculum offering broad and fundamental training in the neurosciences. We encourage a curriculum that includes education in multiple levels of analysis, and an understanding of the tools, technologies, and methods used in contemporary neuroscience research. We also expect that training will be grounded in principles of rigorous experimental design, an understanding of the critical need for, and proper use of, statistics, and quantitative literacy. Students should gain an understanding of the neurobiological basis of diseases and disorders of the nervous system as part of their core knowledge. The portion of the institutional training program supported by a Jointly Sponsored Predoctoral training grant typically includes core courses, laboratory rotations, and programmatic activities including development of professional skills. It is expected that these institutional training programs will contribute to basic and disease-related neuroscience research that is relevant to the participating NIH Institutes.
The Jointly Sponsored Institutional Predoctoral Training Program in the Neurosciences is managed by a trans-NIH steering committee with one member from each of the participating Institutes. The current FOA is PAR-20-076. The next application deadline is May 26, 2020. For calendar year 2020, Dr. Ashlee Van’t Veer is the committee chairperson. Please contact her by email (ashlee.vantveer@nih.gov) or phone (301-443-3107) if you have questions.
Participating Institutes and Program Contacts
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Scientific/Research: Robin Barr, Ph.D. (301) 496-9322
Financial/Grants Management: Jessi Perez (301) 402-7739
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Scientific/Research: Beth Babecki, M.A. (301) 435-0899
Financial/Grants Management: Pam Fleming (301) 253-8729
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Scientific/Research: Desirée Salazar, Ph.D. (301) 827-7303
Financial/Grants Management: Lisa Moeller (301) 594-3914
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Scientific/Research: Ashlee Van’t Veer, Ph.D. (301) 443-3107
Financial/Grants Management: Theresa Jarosik (301) 443-3858
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Scientific/Research: Stephen Korn, Ph.D. (301) 451-7968
Financial/Grants Management: ChiefGrantsManagementOfficer@ninds.nih.gov
Currently Supported Training Programs
California:
California Institute of Technology
Los Angeles, CA 91125
Program Director: Markus Meister, PhD
Phone number: (626) 395-4949
https://neuroscience.caltech.edu/education 
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720
Program Director: Daniel Feldman, PhD
Phone number: (510) 642-8915
http://neuroscience.berkeley.edu/ph-d-program/
University of California-Davis
Davis, CA 95618
Program Director: W. Martin Usrey, PhD
Phone number: (530) 754-5468
https://neuroscience.ucdavis.edu/training-program-basic-neuroscience
University of California-San Diego
La Jolla, CA 92093
Program Director: Timothy Gentner, PhD
Phone number: (858) 534-3377
https://medschool.ucsd.edu/education/neurograd/Pages/default.aspx
University of California-San Francisco
San Francisco, CA 94143
Program Director: Anatol Kreitzer, PhD
Phone number: (415) 502-5683
https://neurograd.ucsf.edu/
Stanford University
Palo Alto, CA 94304
Program Director: Nirao Shah, PhD
Phone Number: (650) 736-1290
http://med.stanford.edu/neurogradprogram.html
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089
Program Director: Jason Zevin, PhD
Phone Number: (323) 361-7868
https://ngp.usc.edu/
Colorado:
University of Colorado-Denver
Aurora, CO 80045
Program Director: Sukumar Vijayaraghavan, PhD
Phone Number: (303) 724-4531
http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/medicalschool/programs/Neuroscience/Pages/Neuroscience.aspx
Connecticut:
Yale University
New Haven, CT 06520
Program Director: Charles Greer, PhD
Phone Number: (203) 785-4034
https://medicine.yale.edu/neuroscience/graduate_program/
District of Columbia (Washington D.C):
Georgetown University
Washington, DC 20057
Program Director: Ludise Malkova, PhD
Phone Number: (202) 687-2791
https://neuroscience.georgetown.edu/
Georgia:
Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia 30322
Program Director: Yoland Smith, PhD
Phone Number: (404) 727-7519
http://www.biomed.emory.edu/PROGRAM_SITES/NS/index.html
Iowa:
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242
Program Director: Daniel Tranel, PhD
Phone Number: (319) 335-6050
https://neuroscience.grad.uiowa.edu/
Maryland:
University of Maryland-Baltimore
Baltimore, MD 21201
Program Director: Jessica Mong, PhD
Phone Number: (410) 706-4295
http://lifesciences.umaryland.edu/neuroscience/
Massachusetts:
Brandeis University
Waltham, MA 02453
Program Director: Leslie Griffith, MD/PhD
Phone number: (781) 736-3125
http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/grad/neuro/index.html
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA 02115
Program Director: Rosalind Segal, MD/PhD
Phone Number: (617) 632-4737
http://www.hms.harvard.edu/dms/neuroscience/index.html
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA 02139
Program Director: James DiCarlo, M.D., PhD
Phone number: (617) 253-5748
https://bcs.mit.edu/academic-program/graduate-program
Michigan:
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Program Director: Edward Stuenkel, PhD
Phone Number: (734) 763-9638
http://neuroscience.med.umich.edu/
Minnesota:
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Program Director: A. David Redish, PhD
Phone Number: (612) 626-6474
http://www.neuroscience.umn.edu/
New York:
Columbia University Health Sciences
New York, NY 10032
Program Director: Wesley Grueber, PhD
Phone Number: (212) 853-1735 or (212) 853-1733
https://www.gsas.cuimc.columbia.edu/neurobiology-and-behavior
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, NY 10029
Program Director: Stephen Salton, MD/PhD
Phone Number: (212) 824-9308
https://icahn.mssm.edu/about/departments/neuroscience
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY 14627
Program Director: Anna Majewska, PhD
Phone number: (585) 275-5788
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/education/graduate/phd/neurosciences.aspx
North Carolina:
Duke University
Durham, NC 27705
Program Director: Richard Mooney, PhD
Phone number: (919) 684-1144
https://www.neuro.duke.edu/education/graduate-training-program/overview
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Program Director: Mark Zylka, PhD
Phone Number: (919) 966-2540
https://www.med.unc.edu/neuroscience/curriculum/
Ohio:
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH 45267
Program Director: James Herman, PhD
Phone number: (513) 558-5636
https://med.uc.edu/neurosciences
Oregon:
Oregon Health & Science University
Portland, OR 97239
Program Director: Gary Westbrook, MD
Phone number: (503) 494-5429
https://wwwapi.ohsu.edu/xd/education/schools/school-of-medicine/academic-programs/neuroscience-graduate-program/
Pennsylvania:
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Program Director: Joshua Gold, PhD
Phone Number: (215) 746-0028
http://www.med.upenn.edu/ngg/
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Program Director: Alan Sved, PhD
Phone Number: (412) 624-6996
http://www.neuroscience.pitt.edu/
Rhode Island:
Brown University
Providence, RH 02912
Program Director: Diane Lipscombe, PhD
Phone Number: (401) 863-3029
http://neuroscience.brown.edu/graduate/
Tennessee:
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN 37235
Program Director: Danny Winder, PhD
Phone Number: (615) 322-1144
https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/brain-institute/neuroscience-graduate-program
Texas:
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX 77030
Program Director: Matthew Rasband, PhD
Phone Number: (713) 798-4494
https://www.bcm.edu/education/schools/graduate-school-of-biomedical-sciences/programs/neuroscience
University of Texas-Austin
Austin, TX 78759
Program Director: Robert Harris, PhD
Phone Number: (512) 232-2514
https://neuroscience.utexas.edu/
University of Texas Health Science Center-San Antonio
San Antonio, TX 78229
Program Director: David Morilak, PhD
Phone Number: (210) 567-4174
http://uthscsa.edu/neuroscience/
Washington:
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195
Program Director: Jane Sullivan, PhD
Phone Number: (206) 543-4038
http://depts.washington.edu/neurogrd/the-program/
Wisconsin:
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI 53715
Program Director: Mary Halloran, PhD
Phone Number: (608) 262-4932
https://ntp.neuroscience.wisc.edu/