NeuroTech Application and Eligibility

The 2022 NeuroTech application is now closed.

Prospective applicants should review the eligibility and application information below, and are also strongly encouraged to review the information about both the NeuroTech training program and Mind, Brain, Computation and Technology program to determine which would be most relevant. 

Questions? Come to the MBCT/NeuroTech Information Session. 

MBCT Info Session Slide Presentation

NeuroTech Info Session:
Friday, June 24, 2022 from 2:00 - 2:30pm PST
Recording available here. 
 

Eligibility

Student applicants

The NeuroTech training program accepts applications from Stanford students in the first or second years of their PhD program. Preferential consideration will be given first-year students, but second-year students are also welcome and encouraged to apply. Applicants must be students in a technical department or program (e.g., Applied Physics, BioEngineering, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Material Sciences and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics or Statistics). If you have any questions about your eligibility for the NeuroTech training program, please do not hesitate to contact mbct-center@stanford.edu.

One of the primary goals of the NeuroTech training program is to support diversity among researchers in the neurosciences. We welcome all interested students to apply, and particularly encourage women, underrepresented minorities, veterans and those with disabilities to submit an application.

Research

Applicants may be members of any Stanford laboratory, however their primary research focus must be in neurotechnology — developing or applying cutting-edge technology to produce an advance in experimental neuroscience.

We are happy to give feedback to rotating students who would like to apply to the NeuroTech program in spring of 2022 and want to know whether the research focus they are considering would qualify. If you would like such feedback, please send a one-paragraph explanation of how your research in the given lab would produce an advance in experimental neuroscience to mbct-center@stanford.edu.

Faculty mentors

Each applicant must have completed the process of selecting a primary research mentor according to the policies of the applicant’s PhD degree granting program. Students are encouraged, but not required, to have a secondary faculty mentor whose expertise complements the student's research and training goals and can guide the applicant’s technical and experimental neuroscience research and training. 

The student's primary mentor must be an affiliate of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, and commit to active participation in the NeuroTech program.

Apply

The 2022 NeuroTech training program application is now closed.

Deadline

July 1, 2022, 5pm PT

Components

In addition to basic information about the student applicant and their chosen mentors, the application consists of five further components:

1.  What is your proposed PhD research plan? Explain your primary neuroscience research question or goal, and describe how you plan to advance understanding of this question. Explain how your research will develop or apply cutting-edge technology or computational approaches to produce an advance in experimental neuroscience. (max. 500 words)
   
   The NeuroTech graduate training program aims to develop future leaders in neurotechnology who can create or apply cutting-edge technology or computational approaches to produce an advance in experimental neuroscience. A strong application will clearly describe a well-considered PhD research plan that applies the student’s technical background to address neuroscience questions.

2. How will the NeuroTech program be a good fit for your education, research and career goals? Explain how you will combine interdisciplinary coursework, travel to conferences or courses, mentor(s) and other learning opportunities (e.g., seminar series, journal clubs, etc.) to stretch beyond your current areas of expertise and develop the skills you need for neuroscience research and future career paths. (max. 500 words)
   
   The NeuroTech program aims to help students go beyond the traditional boundaries of their discipline or lab to apply their technical or computational expertise towards advancing experimental neuroscience. A strong application will describe a comprehensive plan with concrete ways in which you would leverage being a NeuroTech trainee to pursue your interdisciplinary education, research or career goals.

3. Statements of support from both your primary and secondary mentors: Once you discuss your training and research plans and your interest in participating in the NeuroTech program with your primary mentor, they must complete and sign the Primary Faculty Mentor Statement of Support for you to submit. If you have identified a secondary mentor, we also strongly encourage you to discuss and complete the Secondary Faculty Mentor Statement of Support with them.

 Primary Mentor Statement of Support

 Secondary Mentor Statement of Support

Community Engagement

NeuroTech trainees have access to a variety of community engagement activities to aide them in building personal connections with other interdisciplinary scientists and achieving their research, training and career goals. Applicants should address which components they would like to be involved in within the community contribution section of their application. 

Seminars and symposia

The Center for Mind, Brain, Computation and Technology hosts a seminar series throughout the year, typically on a biweekly basis, that reflects the diversity of scientific approaches for studying the mind and brain. These seminars include a mix of Stanford faculty, faculty from other institutions and researchers outside of academia. Additionally, advanced student members present as part of the seminar series.

Annually, the Center hosts a symposium related to a specific theme relevant to the scientific goals of the community. Information about past symposia can be found here.

Student leadership opportunities

The Computational Neuroscience Journal Club is run by MBCT student members (including NeuroTech trainees), and provides graduate students and postdocs an opportunity to explore the core techniques of computational neuroscience and their applications. CNJC meets regularly and includes presentations from students and postdocs, as well as community building activities such as happy hours.

Each year, a student committee organizes the Mind, Brain, Computation and Technology seminar series, and take the lead of soliciting speaker nominations from the community, inviting speakers and hosting their visits to campus. Additionally, students host the speakers for the annual symposium.

This year, a new Student Advisory Council has been formed with the goal of enabling greater student input into the direction of the center. These students solicit feedback from the MBCT student community, and meet with the Center's leadership several times per year. 

The MBCT Social Committee brings together students for fun, informal gatherings over coffee and other beverages. The Social Committee plans several events each year, including events with other interdisciplinary graduate training programs on campus.