Project Summary
Rationale: This proposal seeks NIH support for a T32 training program in Big Data Systems
Neuroscience, where students with strong backgrounds in neurobiology will receive training in
quantitative methods and experimental design. Rapid technological advances in experimental
neuroscience have enabled the collection of increasingly large neural data sets, but students in
traditional neuroscience programs rarely receive formal training in the analytical approaches
needed to understand such complex data sets. This knowledge gap slows progress and imperils
the rigor of scientific research. Bridging this knowledge gap requires collaboration between data
scientists and experimentalists, which is at the heart of this T32 training program. Carnegie
Mellon University (CMU) is a world leader and innovator in quantitative fields such as machine
learning, computer science, and artificial intelligence, and recently, neuroscience has emerged
as a field for strategic growth at the university. The training program will be housed in CMU’s
Neuroscience Institute, established in 2018 to promote interdisciplinary research and training in
big data neuroscience.
Goals: As one of the first programs of its kind, the T32 training program in Big Data Systems
neuroscience will create a unique collaborative and multi-disciplinary training experience with
three overarching goals, to:
1) provide Ph.D. students interdisciplinary, cutting-edge training in experimental and quantitative
aspects of systems neuroscience research and its responsible and ethical conduct
2) provide Ph.D. students with thoughtful, career-specific mentoring and additional professional
development opportunities to increase their retention in systems neuroscience, as well as more
broadly in the biomedical workforce
3) Provide four of the most accomplished students in later years of the program with a 24-month
fellowship to develop research projects integrating theoretical and empirical approaches
4) enhance interactions, collaborations and the overall quality of systems neuroscience
research among trainees and faculty at CMU and the University of Pittsburgh.