Other Recommended Courses and Activities

A range of elective courses are recommended for trainees by the faculty of the Research Training Program in Sleep, Circadian and Respiratory Neurobiology as opportunities for specific formal training in areas that may be important for their individual research, or to give them a broader education (for example, as required to understand and implement translational research). These courses often complement the student’s informal training within their preceptor’s laboratory.

Trainees are encouraged to take one of the several elective courses that are taught by our faculty, including:

BIOL E-210, The Physiology of Sleep (Harvard University Extension School)

This limited enrollment graduate seminar is taught by Steven A. Shea, PhD of the DSM. Course tuition is $1725 (2008). Spring term: Mondays, 7:35-9:35 pm, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Carl J. Shapiro Clinical Center, 10th Floor Board Room, 330 Brookline Avenue. Optional sections Mondays, 6:30-7:30 pm. Students need proof of registration to be admitted to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. This seminar addresses the basis of biological rhythms, including circadian rhythms, and the technology, neurophysiology, physiology, psychology, pathology, and functions of sleep—particularly in humans. Prerequisites: introductory biology; advanced biology welcomed. (4 credits) For more information visit the course website.

MCB186, Circadian Biology: From Cellular Oscillators to Sleep Regulation (Harvard University)

This seminar is taught by J. Woodland Hastings, PhD and Charles A. Czeisler, PhD, MD, FRCP of the DSM. Fall term: Wednesdays, 2:00-5:00pm, location TBA. This seminar addresses the properties, mechanisms, and functional roles of circadian (daily) rhythms in organisms ranging from unicells to mammals. Cellular and molecular components, regulation of gene expression and physiological functions, genetic and biochemical analyses of circadian rhythms, and neurobiology of the mammalian circadian pacemaker. Mathematics and modeling of oscillatory systems and applications to circadian rhythms. Experimental studies of human rhythms, including the sleep-wake cycle and hormone rhythms, with applications to sleep disorders.

BIOL95HFJ, The Sleeping Brain (Harvard University)

This seminar is being taught by Jeffrey M. Ellenbogen, MD, MMSc.  Cross-registration is subject to availability and permission of the instructor. Spring term: day/time and location TBA. This seminar will focus on the neuroscience of sleep. We will begin broadly, by employing a systems-level perspective on the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of sleep. We will then focus on key regions in detail. We will introduce models of animal research, computational models, neuroimaging, electrophysiology, human disease, and a section on behavioral and cognitive neuroscience of sleep.

Many other worthwhile elective courses are available at Harvard and beyond, including Respiratory Pathophysiology, Neural Systems and Behavior, Neurobiology, Modern Cell Biology, Biomedical Informatics, and Methods in Computational Neuroscience. Examples of other courses include the following:

Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) Summer Course

The MBL offers several summer courses in topics of interest to trainees in our program. These courses include: Neurobiology; Physiology: Modern Cell Biology Using Microscopic, Biochemical and Computational Approaches; Neural Systems & Behavior. The cost of tuition for each of these courses is $4,225. We anticipate that 1 advanced pre-doctoral (year G3lG4) and 2 post-doctoral trainees will enroll in an MBL course each year. Total annual costs for 3 trainees to participate in an MBL Summer Course are $12,675. (2007)

Society for Neuroscience (SFN) Short Courses and Satellite Symposia

The actual Short Courses and Satellite Symposia offered at the SFN annual meeting vary from year-to-year, but in the past have included: Basic and Advanced Molecular Techniques for Neuroscientists; Visualizing Large-Scale Patterns of Activity in the Brain: Optical and Electrical Signals; Using Zebrafish to Study Neuroscience; Dynamical Neuroscience XIV: Frontiers in Neural Signal Processing; Network Analyses for the Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences: Surveys and Critiques of fMRI, PET, and MEGIEEG Applications; Professional Skills Workshop; Writing, Editing, and Publishing in Science. The cost of these courses is estimated at $250 each. (2007)

Sleep Research Society (SRS) Primer of Sleep Research Course
The registration fee for this 2-day interactive course is $300 for SRS Trainee members. Please visit the SRS website for more information, including registration, accommodations, and other relevant SRS courses.

Presenting Data and Information: A One-Day Course Taught by Edward Tufte

This course is taught entirely by Edward Tufte.  Topics include: fundamental strategies of information design, evaluating evidence used in presentation, statistical data, business, scientific, legal, financial presentations, complexity and clarity, multi-media, internet, and websites, credibility of presentations, and design of computer interfaces and manuals. The one-day course (10 AM to 4:30 PM) is offered in Boston on each of the 17th, 18th and 19th of November, 2008. Early registration is suggested; these are large courses which often fill up quickly.  The fee is $380 per person; however group discount rates do exist.  Please visit the course website for additional information.

2008 Partners Program in the Responsible Conduct of Research

Partners Responsible Conduct of Research Program will be held on Thursday, October 23, 2008 in the Bornstein Amphitheater of Brigham and Women's Hospital from 5:00-9:00 PM with registration starting at 4:00 PM. The program will begin promptly at 5:00 PM. This program is designed to fulfill the NIH ethics-training requirement for all pre-doctoral and post doctoral National Research Service Award trainees receiving support from an individual or institutional grant, Fellowship, or Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award. The program is case study based and will be taught and facilitated by faculty from both MGH and BWH. For more information or to register, please email Jennifer Ballard, or call 617-724-5536.

It is also possible for trainees to complete a clinical rotation elective in Sleep Disorders Medicine.

Download a more extensive list of Recommended Courses and Activities (doc 222kb) prepared by the Training Program Faculty.

It is expected that through exposure to a wide range of core and elective seminars, lectures, demonstration series, and formal didactic sessions, trainees will be better equipped to engage in meaningful basic science, patient-oriented or translational research. The training faculty also believe that this exposure will foster cross-fertilization of ideas among the trainees involved in this program.

In addition to the regular required lectures and seminars, there are a variety of other lectures on important aspects of sleep, circadian and respiratory neurobiology occurring at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and affiliated institutions (e.g., medical grand rounds, endocrine grand rounds, neurology grand rounds and pulmonary grand rounds). These didactic sessions are conducted by members of the senior staff of the Training Program, by individuals in one of the nearby institutions, or by visiting professors. Trainees are encouraged to seek out and attend all such lectures.

Related Links
Academic Requirements (courses)
Other Required Activities
Recommended Courses and Activities (doc 222kb)
Certificate Program requirements