IAC-USNC/IBRO Organizes Opportunities at the Marine Biological Laboratory and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

** SOME APPLICATION DEADLINES ARE AS EARLY AS FEBRUARY 1, 2009 **

The IAC-USNC/IBRO, also known as the U.S.-Canada IBRO regional committee, announces the 2009 program to support scientists from developing countries in attending high level neuroscience courses at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL).

The IBRO Board of Schools and the IAC-USNC/IBRO seek to encourage highly qualified and motivated research trainees from resource-limited countries to apply for admission to summer neuroscience courses at the MBL in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and CSHL in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. Substantial (usually complete) financial support is available to enable the participation of students from resource-restricted countries in these programs. This is an effort to enable the most meritorious alumni of IBRO Neuroscience Schools and other outstanding young scientists to gain “capstone” experiences in leading training programs. These experiences are intended to benefit scientists who will continue to study and work in less financially advantaged regions such as those in Latin America, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, and Asia/Pacific.

Applications should be submitted through the normal MBL and CSHL application mechanisms. The MBL or CSHL will inform students if they have been selected. No applications should be sent to IBRO or the IAC-USNC directly. While not required, the IAC-USNC/IBRO does request that persons preparing their applications let the committee know they are applying (preferably in advance of the application deadline). Scientists who applied before but were not accepted might consider applying again as the application pool varies each year. If you are applying, please contact Dr. Marilee Shelton-Davenport at

More information about MBL courses included in this program (Neural Systems and Behavior, Neurobiology, Methods in Computational Neuroscience, Neuroinformatics, and “SPINES”) is available at the MBL’s Website http://www.mbl.edu/education/ under “Summer Courses” and “Special Topics Courses.”

More information about the CSHL courses included in this program (Advanced Techniques in Molecular Neuroscience, Workshop on Schizophrenia & Related Disorders, Neurobiology of Drosophila, Imaging Structure & Function in the Nervous System and Ion Channel Physiology) is available at http://meetings.cshl.edu/courses.html.

Some suggestions for preparing a competitive application are listed below.

Information about the experiences of 2007 participants is available here

Applicants are also encouraged to remember that these courses are competitive in nature and thus they should prepare their applications to the best of their ability.

Please do not hesitate to consider this opportunity, as the application deadline for some courses is February 1, 2009.

The IAC-USNC/IBRO is a joint committee of the Society for Neuroscience and the U.S. National Academies (the “Society for Neuroscience International Affairs Committee and National Academies U.S. National Committee for IBRO). The goal of the committee is to increase understanding of the nervous system in health and disease worldwide. Support of participants is made possible by IBRO funds allocated to the committee. The committee is able to oversee such efforts due to support of the IAC-USNC/IBRO by U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), specifically the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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Suggestions for preparing a strong application

To strengthen their applications, applicants are encouraged to contact previous IBRO instructors and other well-recognized scientists familiar with neuroscience in the U.S. to ask them to write a letter addressing the points outlined below. Also, try to include a letter from a neuroscientist familiar with the MBL or the CSHL type programs. If you have not interacted with such scientists, the IAC-USNC may be able to help you identify someone who can interview you and write a letter based on this interview. (Contact Dr. Marilee Shelton-Davenport for assistance )

Points that a candidate's referee (the person writing a letter on behalf of a candidate) should address in their reference letter:

1. brief summary of scientific education and experience of the candidate (interviewee)
2. a statement about how well you know the interviewee
3. your assessment of the person's comprehension of and skill in using written and spoken English
4. your assessment of the person's knowledge about the course in question and reasons for wanting to take it
5. your opinion about the level of maturity, motivation, forthrightness, etc., of the interviewee
6. your assessment of the previous coursework, laboratory, and research experience the interviewee may have had, especially related to neuroscience and focusing in particular on the performance of the individual in the IBRO School or Course in question
7. information about the immediate and longer-term future plans and aspirations of the interviewee and the prospect that the experience gained at the MBL or CSHL would be used shortly after the course
8. a summary of your impressions of the interviewee and recommendation regarding suitability for an MBL or CSHL type course
9. information about you, the interviewer, such as academic credentials and level of your familiarity with these courses and/or other advanced research training programs in the U.S.