A 2007 report from the World Health Organization estimated that one billion people around the world suffer from some form of neurological disease across all ages. In the past two decades, there has been an explosion of new knowledge and understanding of the nervous system. These basic science advances have led to new ways of understanding human neurological disease and new insights into the effective control of these diseases. However, for most neurological diseases, clinicians still face great challenges.
The goal of the Duke Scholars in Neurosciences Program is to provide training for pre-doctoral and post-doctoral scientists interested in neuroscience-related research to interact with physicians to gain experience and an understanding of the clinical problems in neurological diseases.
The mission of the Duke Scholars in Neuroscience (DSNS) track is:
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Provide young, creative basic scientists with opportunities to interact with physicians in neurology, psychiatry, and neurogenetics in a clinical setting.
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Develop interactions among scientists and clinicians to foster innovative scientific hypotheses that potentially lead to new approaches to translate bench-to-bedside and bedside-to-bench research on neurological diseases.
What are the key program components?
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Adult and Pediatric Neurology, Psychiatry, and Neurogenetics Clinic Rotations
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Neurology and Neurogenetics Case Conference and Journal Club
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Introduction to Neuropathology, Neurophysiology, Neuroimaging, Molecular and Biochemical Genetics Diagnostic laboratory facilities
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Guest Faculty Meetings
Who should apply?
Any pre-doctoral students or post-doctoral fellows interested in studying neurological diseases in current or future training should apply. Successful collaborations often develop from diverse scientific backgrounds, and individuals from any research background are encouraged to apply.
For more information, contact:
Nicole Calakos, MD, PhD
Alison Adcock, MD, PhD
Divisions & Departments
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Division of Neurosurgery - Department of Surgery
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Division of Neuroradiology -Department of Radiology
Neuroscience Faculty Bios
Rachel Alison Adcock, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, with tenure
Nicole Calakos, MD, PhD
Professor in Neurology, with tenure
2024-2025 Duke DSMM Scholars in Neurosciences
Odmaa Bayaraa
2nd Year PhD Candidate
Mentor: Simon Gregory
Department: Neurosurgery
Aaron Halvorsen
4th Year PhD Candidate
Mentor: Anne West
Department: Neurobiology
Jennifer Liu
5th Year PhD Candidate
Mentor: Laurie Sanders
Department: Pathology
Augustus Lowry
4th Year PhD Candidate
Mentor: Huanghe Yang
Department: Biochemistry
Dr. Hailey Napier
2nd Year PhD Candidate
Mentor: Craig Lowe
Department: Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
2023-2024 Duke DSMM Scholars in Neurosciences
Dr. Veronica Galvin
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor: Anita Disney
Department: Neurobiology
Dr. Boxun Li
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor: Charles Gersbach
Department: Biomedical Engineering
Elana Lockshin
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Nicole Calakos
Department: Neurobiology
Nhi Phan
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Tatiana Segura
Department: Biomedical Engineering
Dr. Javier Huayta Ramirez
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor: Joel Meyer
Department: Environmental Health, Nicholas School of the Environment
Matthew Slayton
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dr. Simon Davis
Department: Neurology
2022-2023 Duke DSMM Scholars in Neurosciences
Nathaniel Hernandez
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Andrea Nackley
Department: Pharmacology & Cancer Biology
Dr. Katherine Lambert
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor: Warren Grill
Department: Biomedical Engineering
Qichen Duan
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Pelin Volkan
Department: Biology
2021-2022 Duke DSMM Scholars in Neurosciences
Duc Huynh
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Michael Boyce
Department: Biochemistry
Bianca Lupan
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Debra Silver
Department: Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
Dr. Aubrey Mercer
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor: Richard Mooney
Department: Neurobiology
Dr. Jose de Jesus Munoz Estrada
Postdoctoral Associate
Mentor: Sarah C. Goetz
Department: Pharmacology & Cancer Biology
Ashleigh Rawls
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Kafui Dzirasa
Department: Pharmacology & Cancer Biology
Christabel Tan
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Cagla Eroglu
Department: Cell Biology
2020-2021 Duke DSMM Scholars in Neurosciences (N/A: Covid)
2019-2020 Duke DSMM Scholars in Neurosciences
Elise Adamson
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Kafui Dzirasa
Department: Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Nicole Bryant
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Andrew West
Department: Pharmacology & Cancer Biology
Urann Chan
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Anne E. West
Department: Neurobiology
Thuy “Twee” Hua
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Fan Wang
Department: Neurobiology
Scott Scarneo
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Tim Haystead
Department: Pharmacology & Cancer Biology
2018-2019 Duke DSMM Scholars in Neurosciences
Emily Bowie
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Sarah Goetz
Department: Pharmacology & Cancer Biology
Caley Burrus
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Cagla Eroglu
Department: Cell Biology
Pakawat Chongsathidkiet
Post Doc
Mentor: Peter Fecci
Department: Neurosurgery
Vivek Subramanian
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Miguel Nicolelis
Department: Neurobiology
Gwenaelle Thomas
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Kafui Dzirasa
Department: Brain Stimulation & Neurophysiology
Martine Tremblay
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Yong-hui Jiang
Department: Pediatrics-Medical Genetics
2017-2018 Duke DSMM Scholars in Neurosciences
Rahul Chandrasekhar
Post Doc
Mentor: Marc Caron
Department: Cell Biology
Nikolai Rakhilin PhD
Candidate Mentor: Xiling Shen
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Stephen Siecinski
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Simon Gregory
Department: School of Medicine
2016-2017 Duke DSMM Scholars in Neurosciences
Ashley Lennox
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Debra Silver
Department: MGM
Akiyoshi Uezu
Graduate Student
Mentor: Scott Soderling
Department: Cell Biology
Xiaoyang Serene Hu
Graduate Student
Mentor: Hiroaki Matsunami
Department: Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
2015-2016 Duke DSMM Scholars in Neurosciences
John McMahon
PostDoc
Mentor: Debra Silver
Department: MGM
Mai-Anh Vu
PhD Candidate
Mentors: Alison Adcock/Kafui Dzirasa
Department: Neurobiology
Thomas Pack
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Marc Caron
Department: Pharmacology
Zachary M. Abzug
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Marc Sommer
Department: Biomedical Engineering
2014-2015 Duke DSMM Scholars in Neurosciences
Spencer McKinstry
Post-Doctoral Associate
Mentor: Cagla Eroglu
Department: Cell Biology
Mayssa Mokalled
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Kenneth Poss
Department: Cell Biology
Xiaolin Zhu
PhD Candidate
Mentor: David B. Goldstein
Department: UPGG
Kathryn Dickerson
Post-Doctoral Associate
Mentor: Alison Adcock
Department: Center For Cognitive Neuroscience
2013-2014 Duke DSMM Scholars in Neurosciences
Rocio Gomez-Pastor
Post-Doctoral Associate
Mentor: Dennis J. Thiele
Department: Pharmacology and Cancer Biology
Alexander Jeager
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Dennis J. Thiele
Department: Pharmacology and Cancer Biology
Wei Chou Tseng
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Vann Bennett
Department: Pharmacology
2012-2013 Duke DSMM Scholars in Neurosciences
Lomax Boyd
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Debra Silver
Department: Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
Christy Wilson
Post-Doctoral Associate
Mentor: Gerald Grant
Department: Neurosurgery
Steven Prince
Post-Doctoral Associate
Mentor: Kevin LaBar
Department: Neuroscience
Andrew Adler
PhD Candidate
Mentor: Kam Leong
Department: Engineering