The Integrative Biology and Neuroscience (IBNS) is a joint Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (MPFI) program to offer students a Ph.D. with an emphasis in neuroscience. Located on FAU’s John D. MacArthur Campus at Jupiter, students explore cutting-edge questions in neuroscience through the integration of multiple disciplines, different model systems and a broad spectrum of technologies. The IBNS Ph.D. can be entered directly or through the umbrella of the Graduate Neuroscience Training Program (GNTP).
The neuroscience faculty in the IBNS Program tackle many of the cutting-edge questions in neuroscience through the integration of multiple disciplines, different model systems and a broad spectrum of technologies. Faculty provide the formal coursework and the staff of excellent core facilities provide practical workshops in advanced methods that are available for all neuroscience students. The first-year curriculum includes classroom and laboratory instruction in cellular, molecular, and systems neuroscience, courses in scientific communication and statistics, and laboratory rotations with select faculty from MPFI, FAU and Scripps Florida.
Completion of the neuroscience concentration provides students with both knowledge and practical experience in the neuroscience field at an advanced level. In the evolving and growing field of neuroscience, students who complete the IBNS concentration will have the appropriate training to succeed both within and outside of academia. The neuroscience curriculum focuses strongly on knowledge-based and experimental-based neuroscience courses and includes training in scientific methodologies.
The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Brain & Behavior program is in collaboration with MPFI, FAU, University of Bonn (Bonn, Germany), and the Center for Advanced European Studies and Research (Bonn, Germany). The program offers students a world-class, competitive doctoral program while giving them the opportunity to learn, train and work in multiple countries.
The program aims to recruit outstanding doctoral students and immerse them in a stimulating environment that provides novel technologies to elucidate the function of brain circuits from molecules to animal behavior. IMPRS for Brain and Behavior faculty guides students to develop the critical and creative mindset required for a successful scientific career. The comprehensive and diverse expertise of the faculty in the exploration of brain-circuit function using advanced imaging and optogenetic techniques combined with comprehensive training in fundamental neurobiology will provide students with an exceptional level of knowledge to pursue a successful independent research career.
