UW Celebrates 30 Years of Neuroscience Research

April 26, 2007 -- The University of Wyoming will celebrate 30 years of neuroscience research at UW during a program Friday, April 27, from 9 a.m.-noon at the UW Foundation House.

Sponsored by the Neuroscience Program and Center for Neuroscience Research, the program will include research talks and retrospectives by faculty, graduate students and former students from around the country. Additionally, attendees will honor retiring UW Professor Jim Rose, who founded the program with Professor Charles Ksir.

“During his tenure, Professor Rose played a key role is the growth of the neurosciences on campus,” says current program director Bill Flynn, professor in the Department of Zoology and Physiology. “Neuroscience was the first interdepartmental and intercollegiate program at the university, and has steadily grown since it's inception, culminating in a recent award of a $10.4 million grant by the National Institutes of Health to establish a Neuroscience Center.”

The NIH funding and university support have promoted the growth of the neurosciences and the establishment and funding of shared research facilities, such as the Microscopy Facility and Macromolecular Core Facility, Flynn says.

The Neuroscience Program originated as an interdepartmental program involving faculty from the departments of Zoology and Physiology, Psychology, and the School of Pharmacy.

In 2003 a separate Ph.D. in neuroscience was established and neuroscience was identified as an Area of Distinction in UW’s Academic Plan. Since then, a master’s degree and an undergraduate minor in neuroscience were established.

Posted on Thursday, April 26, 2007