Education
DIBS administers two formal educational programs (Trinity College’s undergraduate neuroscience program and the graduate cognitive neuroscience admitting program, as well as the Consortium of Neuroscience Graduate Programs. DIBS also supports a variety of educational programs that bring together experts and learners (undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral and postgraduate fellows, and faculty) through a series of interdisciplinary seminars, journal clubs, outreach programs, mini-courses, workshops, and symposia.
Like the inner workings of the brain itself, the Brain Sciences reflect the integration of discovery from diverse sources of knowledge. The pursuit of understanding in the brain sciences continues to encompass academic domains traditionally represented by the natural sciences, the behavioral and social sciences, and the computational sciences. But now more than ever, the broad impact of discovery is extending beyond these disciplines, leading to new dialogues and new collaborations among brain scientists and people with expertise in law, business, philosophy, the arts, and the humanities. Such new, interdisciplinary collaborations will produce answers to fundamental questions regarding brain function, answers that will transform our understanding of ourselves and the societies in which we live.
The DIBS Colloquia take the form of specially designated seminars within departmental colloquia and seminar series across campus. The goal is to invite prominent speakers whose research has broad resonance with faculty, students, postdocs and staff from across the University, helping to foster a community of brain scientists irrespective of schools, departments, and disciplines.
The DIBS Sponsored Journal Clubs are meetings of students, postdocs and faculty from diverse departments across campus to discuss recent papers and relevant and topical issues of interest to each group. The aim of these journal clubs is to provide a forum to learn the background and review the current literature related to topics relevant to a DIBS research theme in order to expand understanding and raise new ideas for potential collaborative work in these areas on campus.
The DIBS ‘Transcending the Boundaries’ Workshops are one day forums that focus on a particular theme that can benefit from the synergy of interdisciplinary collaboration. The goals of these workshops are: to build a common knowledge framework — about both methods and research questions; to identify Duke’s strengths and weaknesses at the intersection of these relevant disciplines; to identify and engage potential sources of funding for new initiatives; and, ultimately, to identify areas of targeted growth that can build a cohesive and productive intellectual community.
Proposals for Transcending the Boundaries Workshops are evaluated on a rolling basis. To submit a workshop proposal, please e-mail a one-page summary description of the proposed workshop along with a list of internal (and external, if this is desired) speakers for the event and what each speaker would bring to the theme to Elizabeth Johnson (johnson@neuro.duke.edu), Associate Director of DIBS. The speakers need not be formally invited to participate for the proposal, so feel free to include a longer list of potential participants.
The DIBS ‘Transcending the Boundaries’ Symposia are larger events than our workshops, and aim to bring a large number of thematically-linked outside speakers to Duke for a one to two day conference. Due to the large scale of these events, they are held every other academic year. Previous Symposia included:
Academic Year 2008/2009: “Music and the Brain”
Academic Year 2010/2011: “Free Will and Responsibility: Perspectives From Neuroscience, Psychology and Philosophy”
To submit ideas for a Transcending the Boundaries Symposium, please contact Elizabeth Johnson (johnson@neuro.duke.edu), Associate Director of DIBS. A symposium generally requires at least 6 months of planning in advance of the event, so early discussions are encouraged.
In concert with student and staff volunteers, DIBS also helps organize and sponsor Brain Awareness Week activities at Duke each year. Brain Awareness Week is a global campaign to increase public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research. For more information, click here.
Bass Connections: Brain and Society
This program will tackle complex issues facing society through problem-focused educational pathways and integrated project teams involving faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate and professional students and undergraduates.
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