To provide technical skills and deeper knowledge of neuroscience research, the BBB program is developing a set of “lab courses.”
The BBB program is driven to deliver more functional learning experiences for our students. Our long-standing lab courses in Neuroanatomy (BBB 310, taught Judy McLean, previous winner of an SAS teaching award) and Neurophysiology (BBB 492, taught by Mike Kaplan, previous winner of the BBB Society Teaching Award and an SAS teaching award) have been perennially popular. Two additional lab courses are now taking advantage of our new laboratory classroom.
Dr. Michael Kane (previous winner of the BBB Society Teaching Award) offers a new lab course in Animal Behavior. Building on his expertise in neurogenetics and neurodevelopment, Dr. Kane employs Drosophila melanogaster to illustrate a variety of behavioral assays, genetic manipulations, and optogenetic techniques, giving BBB students direct experience in this increasingly valuable approach in neuroscience research. BBB students collect data and apply their findings to current neuroscience literature. This course is now being offered yearly, with an expanded enrollment.
Dr. Nicole Rust (Associate Professor in Psychology) offers a new laboratory course in Computational Vision. Tapping into her extensive experience in sensory processing and computational modeling, Dr. Rust gives students the opportunity to conduct experiments on their own visual perceptions and develop computer models using the Matlab program. BBB students master this critical coding platform and learn the basics of developing a neural model. Dr. Rust will continue to offer this course every year with an expanded enrollment.