NIH Grants and Funding
Contact UsThe Jointly Sponsored Institutional Predoctoral Training Program in the Neurosciences (JSPTPN) supports broad and fundamental research training in the neurosciences. This initiative began in 1997 to provide support during the early years of graduate training, the first and second years, typically before full-time thesis research begins. Trainees are expected to be participants in a formal predoctoral curriculum offering broad and fundamental training in the neurosciences. We encourage a curriculum that includes education in multiple levels of analysis, and an understanding of the tools, technologies, and methods used in contemporary neuroscience research. We also expect that training will be grounded in principles of rigorous experimental design, an understanding of the critical need for, and proper use of, statistics, and quantitative literacy. Students should gain an understanding of the neurobiological basis of diseases and disorders of the nervous system as part of their core knowledge. The portion of the institutional training program supported by a Jointly Sponsored Predoctoral training grant typically includes core courses, laboratory rotations, and programmatic activities including the development of professional skills. It is expected that these institutional training programs will contribute to basic and disease-related neuroscience research that is relevant to the participating NIH Institutes.
The Jointly Sponsored Institutional Predoctoral Training Program in the Neurosciences is managed by a trans-NIH steering committee with one member from each of the participating Institutes. The current funding opportunity is PAR-22-265. The next application deadline is May 25, 2024. For the calendar year 2024, Dr. Letitia Weigand is the committee chairperson. Please contact her by email (letitia.weigand@nih.gov) or phone (301-496-4188) if you have questions.
Participating Blueprint Institutes and Program Contacts
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Contact: Maria Carranza, Ph.D. (maria.carranza@nih.gov)
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
Contact: Lanay Mudd, Ph.D. (lanay.mudd@nih.gov) 301-594-9346
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Contact: Neeraj Agarwal, Ph.D. (agarwalnee@nei.nih.gov)
National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Contact: Ivana Grakalic, Ph.D. (igrakalic@mail.nih.gov) 301-443-7600
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
Contact: Zeynep Erim, Ph.D. (erimz@mail.nih.gov) 301-451-4797
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Contact: Ralph Nitkin, Ph.D. (nitkinr@mail.nih.gov) 301-402-4206
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (NIDA)
Contact: Beth Babecki, M.A. (bbabecki@mail.nih.gov) 301-435-0899
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
Contact: Anissa Brown, Ph.D. (anissa.brown@nih.gov) 301-594-4805
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Contact: Carol Shreffler, Ph.D. (shreffl1@niehs.nih.gov) 984-287-3322
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (NIMH)
Contact: Ashlee Van't Veer, Ph.D. (ashlee.van'tveer@nih.gov) 301-443-3107
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) (NINDS)
Contact: Delany Torres, Ph.D. (delany.torressalazar@nih.gov) 301-402-9286
Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)
Contact: Dana Greene, Ph.D. (dana.schloesser@nih.gov) 301-451-3975
Participating Non-Blueprint Institutes and Program Contacts
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Contact: Alberto Rivera-Rentas, Ph.D. (albertoi.rivera-rentas@nih.gov)
National Institue of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Contact: Laurie Stepanek, Ph.D. (laurie.stepanek@nih.gov)
Currently Supported Training Programs
California
California Institute of Technology
Title: Predoctoral Training in Quantitative Neuroscience
Program Director: Markus Meister Ph.D. (meister@caltech.edu)
University of California Berkley
Title: Neuroscience Training Program at UC Berkeley
Program Director: Daniel Feldman Ph.D. (dfeldman@berkeley.edu)
University of California Davis
Title: Training Program in Basic Neuroscience
Program Director: Martin Usrey Ph.D. (wmusrey@ucdavis.edu)
University of California San Diego
Title: Neurosciences Graduate Training Program
Program Director: Timothy Gentner Ph.D. (tgentner@ucsd.edu)
University of California San Francisco
Title: Predoctoral Training in Neurobiology
Program Director: Samuel Pleasure MD/Ph.D. (sam.pleasure@ucsf.edu)
Stanford University
Title: Training Program in Basic Neuroscience
Program Director: Merritt Maduke Ph.D. (maduke@stanford.edu)
Connecticut
Yale University
Title: Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program
Program Director: Charles Greer Ph.D. (charles.greer@yale.edu)
Georgia
Emory University
Title: Training in System and Integrative Biology Neuroscience
Program Director: Yoland Smith Ph.D. (Ysmit01@emory.edu)
Iowa
University of Iowa
Title: Neuroscience Training Program
Program Director: Daniel Tranel Ph.D. (daniel-tranel@uiowa.edu)
Maryland
John Hopkins University
Title: Training Program in Neuroscience
Program Director: James Knierim Ph.D. (jknierim@jhu.edu)
University of Maryland Baltimore
Title: Multidisciplinary Training Program in Neuroscience
Program Director: Jessica Mong Ph.D. (jmong@som.umaryland.edu)
Massachusetts
Brandeis University
Title: Neuroscience: From Channels to Behavior
Program Director: Leslie Griffith Ph.D. (griffith@brandeis.edu)
Harvard University
Title: PhD Training in Neuroscience
Program Director: John Assad Ph.D. (JASSAD@HMS.HARVARD.EDU)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Title: Computationally Enabled Integrative Neuroscience
Program Director: James DiCarlo MD/Ph.D. (dicarlo@mit.edu)
Michigan
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Title: Early-Stage Training in Neuroscience
Program Director: Leslie Satin Ph.D. (lsatin@umich.edu)
Minnesota
University of Minnesota
Title: Predoctoral Training of Neuroscientists
Program Director: David Redish Ph.D. (redish@umn.edu)
Missouri
Washington University
Title: Neuroscience Training Program at Washington University
Program Director: Daniel Kerschensteiner MD. (kerschensteinerd@vision.wustl.edu)
New York
Columbia University
Title: Neurobiology and Behavioral Training Grant
Program Director: Wesley Grueber Ph.D. (wg2135@columbia.edu)
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Title: Training Program in Neuroscience
Program Director: George Huntley Ph.D. (george.huntley@mssm.edu)
University of Rochester
Title: Graduate Training in Neuroscience
Program Director: Anna Majewska Ph.D. (ania_majewska@urmc.rochester.edu)
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Title: Neuroscience Training at Wake Forest
Program Director: Carol Milligan Ph.D. (milligan@wakehealth.edu)
Duke University
Title: Neurobiology Training Program
Program Director: Richard Mooney Ph.D. (mooney@neuro.duke.edu)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Title: Neuroscience Predoctoral Training at UNC-Chapel Hill
Program Director: Mark Zylka Ph.D. (zylka@med.unc.edu)
Ohio
University of Cincinnati
Title: Predoctoral Training Program in the Neurosciences
Program Director: James Herman Ph.D. (james.herman@uc.edu)
Oregon
Oregon Health & Science University
Title: Multidisciplinary Training in Neuroscience
Program Director: Gary Westbrook MD (westbroo@ohsu.edu)
Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
Title: Graduate Training in Neuroscience
Program Director: Joshua Gold Ph.D. (jigold@pennmedicine.upenn.edu)
University of Pittsburgh
Title: Predoctoral Training in Basic Neuroscience
Program Director: Stephen Meriney Ph.D. (meriney@pitt.edu)
Rhode Island
Brown University
Title: Interdisciplinary Predoctoral Neuroscience Training Program
Program Director: David Sheinberg Ph.D. (David_Sheinberg@brown.edu)
Tennessee
Vanderbilt University
Title: Training in Fundamental Neuroscience
Program Director: Danny Winder Ph.D. (danny.winder@vanderbilt.edu)
Texas
Baylor College of Medicine
Title: Graduate Training in the Neurosciences
Program Director: Mathew Rasband Ph.D. (rasband@bcm.edu)
University of Texas San Antonio
Title: Integrated Graduate Training Program in Neuroscience, UTHSCSA
Program Director: David Morilak Ph.D. (morilak@uthscsa.edu)
University of Texas at Austin
Title: Pre-Doctoral Training in Interdisciplinary Neuroscience
Program Director: Amy Lee Ph.D. (amy.lee1@austin.utexas.edu)
Washington DC
Georgetown University
Title: Predoctoral Training in Integrative Neuroscience
Program Director: Ludise Malkova Ph.D. (malkoval@georgetown.edu)
Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin at Madison
Title: Graduate Training in the Neurosciences
Program Director: Ari Rosenberg Ph.D. (ari.rosenberg@wisc.edu)