Instructor: Professor Xiangmin Xu, Departments of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Microbiology and
Molecular Genetics, Biomedical Engineering, and Computer Science, University of California, Irvine
Units: 2 units (2 hours, weekly lecture/discussion sessions) each quarter Fall, Winter, Spring
Day/Time: Tuesday 10:00 AM – 12:20 PM; Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building (ISEB)
2nd floor conference room or on ZOOM
Course Code: 90362
Course description
This course is designed to enhance the training of the next generation of researchers to study neural
circuits in health and disease. It requires students to meet for ten weekly, 2-hour sessions in each
quarter, including presentations by invited lecturers and participating faculty that are open to the science
community, followed by student discussion of the lecture topics or related topics. For the monthly
seminars presented by the invited speakers of the UCI Center for Neural Circuit Mapping (CNCM),
selected students will be asked to introduce CNCM speakers at seminars and then host a meeting with
the seminar speaker. They will also organize lunch meetings with speakers. Students are required to turn
in a 2-page essay summarizing recent progress in the field of neuroscience based on seminar topics at
the end of the quarter. This course will help students broaden their intellectual perspectives and research
background, and it will offer opportunities to practice their presentation and communication skills as well
as promote their networking abilities.
Course Learning Outcomes
(1) Students are expected to develop a broader understanding of various topics related to neural circuit
mapping, and major technological advances in modern neuroscience. (2) An additional outcome of the
course is to help students develop scientific communication and networking skills.
Textbooks: Digital materials including research papers will be provided.
Course grading
Students are graded using the following scale: Pass / No pass
Instructor contact information
Email: xiangmin.xu@uci.edu
Office: 2048 Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building (ISEB)
Office hours: By Appointment
Phone: 949-824-0040
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The next offering of this course starts in the Spring quarter, 2024