51Æ·²è

Fourteen top high school students from across the country came to 51Æ·²èthis summer for the inaugural two-week intensive course in neuroscience led by Michael Burman Ph.D., assistant professor in the Psychology Department.

The students received three college credits for a combination of classroom work, hands-on laboratory experience, and an intensive final project in a program hosted by the Office of Continuing Education and Summer Programs in the College of Arts and Sciences.  Several highly competitive merit-based scholarships were generously provided by the Center for Excellence in Neuroscience and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Neuroscience, philosophy and psychology faculty from UNE’s College of Arts and Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine and College of Pharmacy also contributed tours, demonstrations, and scientific presentations, as well as career advice.  The surgery staff at Maine Medical Center and Dr. Brian McAllister from Spectrum Anesthesiology also met with the students to discuss surgery and the effects of anesthesiology on the nervous system.

This program is part of ongoing efforts to recruit high quality students to 51Æ·²èand to highlight UNE’s strength in neuroscience teaching and scholarship.  In this regard, it was highly successful, with students reporting that the program exposed them to a scientific world they didn’t know existed and helped many fall in love with the scenic 51Æ·²ècampus.  Although many students found the program’s pace and workload challenging, they rose to the occasion with a newfound appreciation for the complexity of the human brain and the rigors of college life.