DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The aim of the Neurosciences Graduate Program at Stanford University is to develop predoctoral PhD students as leaders in neuroscience research and teaching. We propose an integrated educational program that involves each student in the study of all levels of nervous system function from molecules to behavior. Teaching students how to identify approach and solve specific research problems will promote their professional development as independent scientists and will contribute new knowledge to the fight against neurological and psychiatric disease. To this end the Program will provide students with the opportunity to conduct state-of-the-art neurobiological research in any of a broad range of disciplines including molecular and cell biology, genetics, biophysics, electrophysiology, anatomy, computational modeling, neuroimaging, and the quantitative study of behavior. Formal course work will require students to examine how the nervous system functions at the molecular and cellular level, during development from embryo to adult, and in normal and diseased states. The Program incorporates added depth and breadth via a suite of activities including a laboratory boot camp, retreats, seminar series, summer courses, and invited lecturers. There are currently 80 students in the Program. All students will be enrolled in the Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, the only academic body at Stanford that awards a PhD in the neurosciences. The faculty is composed of 85 members from 19 Departments in 3 Schools. The faculty is highly interactive, intellectually diverse, and their research efforts are well funded. Their research covers nearly every aspect of neuroscience, with concentrations in cellular/molecular, computational, developmental, systems/cognitive/behavioral neuroscience, membrane excitability and neurobiology of disease. Trainees are encouraged to rotate through three labs before committing to a preceptor. Course requirements must be fulfilled with courses taught by different academic departments, and the members of the examination and thesis committees must be from more than one department. The Program Committee, which is the governing body, is composed of Program faculty from eight departments, along with student representatives. This Committee has overall responsibility for setting academic policy, initiating programmatic changes, and monitoring student progress after matriculation. Admissions and curriculum issues are handled by separate committees, each composed of similarly diverse faculty/student groups. Admitted students are among the most outstanding candidates in the nation. Past trainees of the Neurosciences Program have been extremely successful in pursuing academic research careers.