What's in a Master's? Different Programs for Different Needs

Shelley J. Russek is the director of the Boston University Graduate Program for Neuroscience (GPN) and a professor of biology and pharmacology and experimental therapeutics. Her research focuses on the gene regulation of brain inhibition and its relationship to BDNF-induced brain plasticity in multiple neurologic and neuropsychiatric disorders, including anxiety, epilepsy, and autism.

Paul McGonigle is the director of the division of interdisciplinary and career-oriented programs within the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies at Drexel University College of Medicine. He is also a professor in the department of pharmacology and physiology and director of the drug discovery and development program at Drexel University College of Medicine. McGonigle previously was on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and most recently, chief scientific officer and then vice president of PsychoGenics, Inc. McGonigle’s main research interests lie in CNS drug discovery, receptor pharmacology, behavioral pharmacology, and neuropharmacology. He received his BS in mathematics and MS in biomedical science from Drexel University, and he earned his PhD in pharmacology from Temple University Medical School.

J. Patrick Card is a neuroscience professor at the University of Pittsburgh and is the co-director of the NIH Center for Neuroanatomy with Neurotropic Viruses. He maintains a research program devoted to developing technology for transneuronal circuit analysis using neurotropic viruses and uses that technology to define the functional organization of neural networks that regulate behavioral state and adaptive motivated behavior. He has served on a variety of university committees, including the Provost’s Advisory Council for Instructional Excellence and councils for graduate and undergraduate studies.

Paul Miller is an associate professor of biology at the Benjamin and Mae Volen National Center for Complex Systems at Brandeis University. He initially trained in theoretical condensed matter physics but now researches computational modeling of neural systems. His focus is on how circuits of neurons enable animals to solve cognitive tasks. He has also reviewed numerous journal articles in more than a dozen journals.