Professors:
Sarah Clinton (ILSB);
Michelle Olsen (LS1)
Associate Professors:
Elizabeth Gilbert (LITRV);
Timothy Jarome (LITRV);
Lina Ni (STEG);
Alicia Pickrell (LS1);
Kendra Sewall (DER);
Sujith Vijayan (ICTAS);
Matthew Weston (FBRI)
Assistant Professors:
Sweta Agrawal (ILSB);
Matthew Buczynski (LS1);
Daniel English (LS1);
Ann Gregus (LS1);
Georgia Hodes (ILSB);
William Howe (LS1);
Wynn Legon (FBRI);
Silvio Macias Herrera (ILSB);
Christopher Thompson (ILSB)
Note that the final deadline for application submission is January 15
Priority is given to applications submitted before December 1
Our Ph.D. students will apply the fundamentals of brain functioning in states of health and disease to new neuroscience discovery.
We aim to provide students with a deep understanding of the structure and function of the brain and nervous system, the brain in healthy and diseased states across the lifespan, and the most relevant neurotechnology approaches and tools needed to investigate the brain and nervous system.
Our students will learn how to conduct neuroscience research, how that research applies to healthy brain development and functioning, and how these processes go awry in neurological disorders.
Our graduates will be prepared for employment in academia, industry and government agencies, as well as business and research settings that seek to understand, translate, implement, and communicate scientific principles in neuroscience.
Our Research
Cellular, Molecular, Systems and Computational Neuroscience
Using organisms from flies to humans, neuroscience researchers at Virginia Tech are exploring how the brain develops, how the brain ages, how neurons and glia interreact with one another to create functional circuits and how these circuits create or modulate behavior, such as learning and sleep. Our researchers are looking at these questions in the healthy brain, in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, in psychiatric disease, in neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson and Alzheimer disease, in drug abuse, and brain injury.
Our program
- Rotations
- Career Development Workshop Series
- Competitive Stipend, Tuition and >90% Healthcare coverage
After one semester of research rotations and core neuroscience coursework, our PhD candidates and their mentors work together to identify additional neuroscience coursework and electives that shape each student’s individual academic experience. Courses can be selected such that they support each students' research project and interests. PhD students of our research-intensive program will apply the fundamentals of brain functioning in states of health and disease to new neuroscience discovery.
Our graduates
Our graduates are prepared for employment in academia, industry and government agencies, as well as business and research settings that seek to understand, translate, implement, and communicate scientific principles in neuroscience.
