Neuroscience News and Events
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Brain Chill! UM Neuroscience Summer Research Students and Faculty Beat the Heat with a River Float
UM’s summer neuroscience research program provides a great opportunity for students to fully immerse themselves in the laboratory and get valuable hands-on experience. This summer also provided a chance for them, their lab-mates and their faculty mentors to also immerse themselves in the...
UM Neuroscience Major, Military Veteran Brings Compassion for Others to Studies
MISSOULA – Jacob Horton, like many of his fellow University of Montana military veterans, came to campus with a resume of unique lifetime experiences to apply to his academic studies.
A seven-year U.S. Army veteran, he served on deployments to Afghanistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Korea, not...
UM Neuroscience Faculty Lead Brain Lab for MedStart Students
One of the highlights of this summer’s MedStart camp was a brain dissection lab led by Neuroscience lecturer Dr. Katie Holick. During the presentation, Dr. Holick reviewed different regions of the brain and their functions. In addition, she outlined what happens to patients when different areas...
Newly Created Neuroscience Minor Approved to Begin Autumn Semester 2021
A minor in Neuroscience will now be available to UM students this fall, following its recent approval by the Montana Board of Regents. The minor was created to provide an innovative pathway for non-majors to develop a valuable and applicable understanding of the brain and cognition. It will...
Congratulations To All Our Neuroscience Graduates!
Our warmest congratulations are extended to all of our Neuroscience graduates. Observing health and safety guidelines, the University of Montana celebrated commencement for the classes of 2020 and 2021 at Washington Grizzly stadium this past weekend. We are all aware that the Covid-19 pandemic...
The Montana University System Recognizes Neurosciences Courses with Their Own Rubric: NEUR
It has been many months in making, but the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education recently adopted NEUR as a new rubric for Neuroscience courses across the Montana University System. This designation reflects both the growth of UM’s Neuroscience major and the recognition of neuroscience...
Brain, Mind and the Narrative Imagination, a new book just released by UM Emeritus Professor of Neuroscience, Christopher Comer.
While neuroscience is most commonly viewed from a biomedical perspective, UM Emeritus Professor of Neuroscience Chris Comer has always been captivated with its intersection with the fields of Literature and Art. In his new book, Brain, Mind and the Narrative Imagination, Comer explores these...
Three New Neuroscience Courses Are Being Developed for the 2021-2022 Academic Year: Neuropharmacology, Neuroanatomy and Neural Systems.
Responding to feedback from Neuroscience students, we will be offering three new upper division Neuroscience electives in the 2021-2022 academic year. Neuropharmacology (BIOH 491/ NEUR 491), which will be offered for the Autumn semester, will explore the pharmacology of the various...
Paid Undergraduate Neuroscience Research Fellowships for Summer 2021
The Neuroscience Program and the Center for Structural & Functional Neuroscience (CSFN) are excited to announce that they are once again sponsoring a paid summer fellowship program for undergraduate students interested in gaining research experience. Students have the opportunity to spend 10-12...
The Montana Board of Regents Appoints Chris Comer as UM’s First Emeritus Professor of Neuroscience.
Chris has been and continues to be a true champion for UM’s Neuroscience Program. He played a foundational role in the development of UM’s new B.S. degree in Neuroscience, helping both to shape its curriculum and mentor the faculty participating in the program. Especially notable are his...
The Covid-19 pandemic continues to thwart commencement, but not the resilience of UM’s Neuroscience majors who completed their degrees and graduated in 2020
Despite the many challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, our neuroscience majors continue to advance their studies and complete their degrees. Concerns for the health of UM students and their families, as well as for faculty, led to the decision to postpone commencement until at least...
UM senior and Neuroscience summer research student Ryan Garnsey becomes a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship
It’s been five years since UM had a student advance to such level for this prestigious award. In addition to his many achievements and activities, Ryan received a research fellowship to pursue an interdisciplinary neuroscience project this past summer. These fellowships provide a salary stipend...
New Spring Course for Non-Science Majors Focuses on Brain Diseases: Bad Things Happen to Good Brains
Communities, families, caregivers and patients are too often confronted with the challenges presented by traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, addiction or other disorders that affect the brain and nervous system. Meant for both non-science...
Public Neuroscience Lecture Series on the Brain and Nervous System Disorders Continues on Thursday November 19th with a Focus on Insomnia.
The Providence Montana Neuroscience Institute, in collaboration with the Neuroscience program at University of Montana, will be presenting the second in a series of public lectures on Thursday November 19th at 5:30 PM. This webinar will explore the physiological and psychological phenomena of...
UM Neuroscience is Going Social! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
To better connect UM Neuroscience students and faculty, the program recently joined Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This will provide our students with better access to announcements, events, presentations and inside looks as to what’s going on in neuroscience courses and faculty labs. The...
Neuroscience Students Join Griz Health to Help With UM’s Covid-19 Response
Griz Health is a program made up of a collective of University faculty and volunteer students dedicated to helping keep the University a safe and healthy place to live and learn through these trying times of COVID-19. It is designed to educate and help keep volunteers up-to-date on the newest...
Public Neuroscience Lecture Series on the Brain and Nervous System Disorders Starts Thursday September 24th.
There are few things more intriguing than contemplating how the brain and nervous system work. Conversely, there are few things more frightening than having to cope with the challenges connected to Alzheimer’s, chronic pain, depression, or addiction, be it as a patient, family member or...
UM Neuroscience Research Team Advances Our Understanding of Childhood Tumors
While neuroblastoma is considered a rare cancer, it is the most common type of solid tumor found in children, accounting for about 50% of all cancers in infants younger than one year of age. Neuroblastoma tumors most often arise from neurons in the adrenal gland of the sympathetic nervous...
Incoming Neuroscience Students, Autumn 2020
The faculty, staff and current students of UM’s Neuroscience program are very pleased to welcome our newest cohort of incoming students. This semester’s group represents one of our largest entering classes yet and highlights the growing interest students have in learning how the nervous system...
White Coats for Black Justice
Late in the afternoon on Monday, June 15th, a group of Neuroscience faculty and students joined with colleagues from the Division of Biological Sciences and other UM science departments to rally at the Missoula Courthouse to publicly support Black Lives Matter, Indigenous Peoples, and People of...
Neuroscience Major Welcomes Two New Faculty
The growing Neuroscience program at UM is excited to announce the Fall 2020 arrival of two new faculty members. In keeping with its collaborative, interdisciplinary design, these new faculty will hold appointments in two different colleges: Dr. Beverly Piggott in the Division of Biological...
Cognitive Neuroscience student receives 2020 Mortar Board Outstanding Senior Award
Ashley Bielawski, who is graduating this spring with a B.S. in Neuroscience and a minor in Physics, received the Senior Recognition award on the basis of her exceptional academic performance and contribution to the excellence of both the neuroscience program and the University of Montana. She...
This is Your Brain on Neuroscience
A group of UM neuroscience majors joined together to form a new ASUM-approved student club in 2019. Several Neuroscience club members met just prior to spring break to print the first edition of a club t-shirt. The club’s logo that appears on the front of the shirt was designed by Madi Neuman....
UM Students Host Informational Conference on (TBI)
University of Montana students affiliated with the National Student Speech Hearing and Language Association (NSSHLA) hosted a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) event Friday March 6th as part of UM’s Advocacy Day. The conference covered a broad range of interdisciplinary topics, making it a great...
Paid Neuroscience Research Fellowships for Summer 2020
The Center for Structural & Functional Neuroscience (CSFN) is excited to announce that it is once again sponsoring a paid summer fellowship program for undergraduate students interested in gaining research experience. Students have the opportunity to spend 10-12 weeks during the summer working...
New Accelerated 5-Year Dual B.S./M.S. Degree in Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience
UM’s Neuroscience Program is very excited to announce the recent approval of an accelerated degree track in Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience that allows students to earn a dual B.S./M.S degree in five years. This is an exceptional opportunity for motivated students who wish to receive advanced...
2nd-Annual "Brain Burn" Bonfire Social
UM Neuroscience will host its 2nd-annual "Brain Burn" bonfire social at the fire pit behind the Payne Family Native American Center. This will be a purely casual social event--a chance to connect with your fellow students and professors outside of the classroom/office/lab. Come by and enjoy the...
Inaugural Class of Neuroscience Majors Graduate!
The University of Montana’s commencement ceremonies on May 4th included the inaugural class of Neuroscience majors who entered the program as freshmen in 2015. Students, accompanied by friends and family, joined with faculty to celebrate the occasion in the University Center. With all of the...
Meet the New Academic Advisor for Neuroscience
We are very pleased that Rebecca Kranitz has joined the team of Academic Advisors in College of Humanities & Sciences and will be advising Neuroscience majors. To better serve students, UM has been shifting to a system that utilizes professional Academic Advisors to assist with course...
New Neuroscience Degree at UM ‘Wildly Popular’
Jed Syrenne wants to explore unanswered questions and large mysteries, so he was eager for the University of Montana to open the door to a neuroscience major.
Last school year, UM launched the major, and for Syrenne, it's a perfect fit.
"I'm kind of an eclectic person anyway, so having a large...
2019 Summer Research Program Concludes with Student Presentations
Enthusiastic discussions, ranging from drug design to the influence of the microbiome on behavior to the cognition of free will, filled the room as the students participating in the 2019 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program presented their work to faculty and fellow students....
Paid Neuroscience Research Fellowships for Summer 2019
The Center for Structural & Functional Neuroscience (CSFN) is excited to announce that it is once again sponsoring a paid summer fellowship program for undergraduate students interested in gaining research experience. Students have the opportunity to spend 10-12 weeks during the summer working...
Groundbreaking Course on Opioid Crisis Highlights the Intersection of UM Strengths in Pharmacy and Neuroscience
Given its focus on such a relevant and high-profile topic, “Interdisciplinary Approaches to Address the Opioid Epidemic”, it’s not surprising that this semester’s pharmacy course on Recent Advances in Clinical Medicine (AHHS 389) has attracted so much attention. The course covers a wide variety...
Students form new University of Montana Neuroscience Club
This semester a group of neuroscience majors created a new ASUM-approved student Neuroscience Club. The purpose of the club is to build a community of like-minded students interested in brain science. The members are encouraging other student to join and participate in activities such as...
W.M. Keck Foundation Grant Will Expand Neuroscience Education and Research at UM
A grant recently funded by the W.M. Keck Foundation will help UM expand its neuroscience curriculum and provide exciting new opportunities for both science and non-science students. The project will create a series of classes based in the neurosciences that integrate the knowledge, concepts, and...
"Brain Burn" Bonfire Social for Neuroscience Majors
Thursday October 25th, 6:30, Payne Native American Ctr. Fire Pit
Next week UM Neuroscience will host its first ever "Brain Burn" bonfire social at the fire pit behind the Payne Family Native American Center. A number of neuroscience faculty will be present, as well as plenty of marshmallows. This...
HOSA students learn about UM Neuroscience Major
Montana HOSA Students Explore Neuroscience Principles and the New UM Major at their Statewide Leadership Conference
The UM Undergraduate Neuroscience program was showcased at the recent Montana HOSA-Future Health Professions statewide Leadership Conference on March 20th and 21st in Helena. This...
UM Student Lands Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship
University of Montana student Jed Syrenne recently won a Goldwater Scholarship, the top national award for undergraduate research in science, math and engineering, for the 2017-2018 academic year. Syrenne is UM’s 17th Goldwater Scholar.
Soren Ormseth, also a UM student, won honorable mention in...
Students Learn to Write Neuroscience in Plain English
During the 2016 fall semester, seniors in the Neuroscience Research Techniques class (BIOH 458W) wrote blogs about what they loved about neuroscience. They wrote about some pretty complex ideas in ways that were easy for almost anyone to understand.
Read Sample Writings
How We Learn
By Mason Conen,...
