Chair’s Message
Neuroscience has been growing and thriving at UC Berkeley for 40 years, with outstanding faculty, cutting-edge research and a vibrant PhD program. Until recently, this community was scattered across many departments. We have now come together as our own department—the Department of Neuroscience, launched in July 2024. Our department, comprising 34 faculty members, spans a broad range of expertise—from molecules to the mind—and includes cutting-edge fields such as computational neuroscience and neurotechnology. We are driving innovation by advancing new research frontiers, offering a robust undergraduate neuroscience major, and creating exciting new programs.
We will continue to offer outstanding PhD and postdoctoral training for tomorrow's research leaders. I am very excited to be part of this effort to advance neuroscience education, research, and discovery at Berkeley!
--Dan Feldman
Department Chair: Dan Feldman, dfeldman@berkeley.edu
Neuroscience Committees and Activities
Chair and Area Heads Committee (CAH)
Members: Dan Feldman, Marla Feller, William Jagust, Richard Kramer, Lance Kriegsfeld, Bruno Olshausen, David Presti
Meets monthly to review department operations, make decisions on all areas of department policy, evaluate and revise ongoing programs, address challenges, and plan new programs.
Department Faculty Meetings
Members: All Neuroscience Faculty
The full faculty meet monthly to discuss issues arising, hear about campus-level issues, debate department policy and program changes, and review best practices.
Undergraduate Program Committee (UG PROG)
Oversees the undergraduate major, including honors and capstone components, provides faculty advising for undergrad majors, and coordinates undergraduate commencement.
Curriculum Committee (CURRIC)
Evaluates proposals for new undergraduate courses, advises faculty in preparing course proposals, assesses strengths and weaknesses of the undergraduate curriculum, resolves scheduling and enrollment issues, and recommends curricular improvements.
Equity Committee (EQUITY)
Members: Lance Kriegsfeld (Chair), Markita Landry (Equity Advisor), David Feinberg (Neuro Faculty), Michael DeWeese (Neuro Faculty), Leleña Avila (Grad Program Manager), Bonnie Tom (Undergrad Advisor), Bree Bohannon (Postdoc Rep), Haidyn Bulen (Neuro PhD Grad Student Rep), Samantha Jackson (Neuro PhD Grad Student Rep), Samira Monshietehadi (Neuro lab Grad Student Rep).
Oversees equity, inclusion, and climate for undergraduates, PhD students, and postdocs, including by advertising policies and programs, meeting with individuals or groups who want to discuss community and climate issues, organizing activities, conducting periodic surveys, and liaising with the GRAD committee on issues relevant to the PhD program.
Graduate Program Committee (GRAD)
Members: Frédéric Theunissen (Program Director, Chair), Silvia Binge (HWNI Faculty), Kristofer Bouchard (HWNI Faculty), Liberty Hamilton (Neuro Faculty), Na Ji (Neuro Faculty), Linda Wilbrecht (Neuro Faculty), Leleña Avila (Grad Program Manager), Peony Yu (Grad Program Coordinator), Haidyn Bulen (Grad Student Rep, Circuit, Systems & Behavioral Neuroscience), Jen Holmberg (Grad Student Rep, Cognitive Neuroscience), Jing-Jing Li (Grad Student Rep, Computational Neuroscience), Atehsa Sahagun (Grad Student Rep, Molecular & Cellular Neuroscience)
Advises the graduate program chair to oversee the PhD program, including evaluating strengths and weaknesses of the program, representing graduate student perspectives, recommending program improvements, monitoring performance of the T32 training program, and advising first- and second-year PhD students.
Graduate Admissions Committee (GRAD ADMISSIONS)
Members: Faculty Chair, 1-2 faculty members from each of the four areas of neuroscience, 2 graduate student members, Leleña Avila (Graduate Program Manager), Peony Yu (Graduate Program Coordinator)
Reviews PhD applications, decides on admissions offers, organizes recruitment visits.
Postdoc Program Committee (POSTDOC)
Members: Marta A Gajowa (Adesnik Lab), Caitlin S Mallory (Foster Lab), Boaz Styr (Yartsev Lab), Krishna Chaitanya Kasuba (Yartsev Lab), Neta Gazit Shimoni (Lammel Lab), Rachana Deven Somaiya (Feller Lab), Miriam Hernandez Morales (Liu Lab)
Coordinates postdoc-related department activities, including postdoctoral departmental seminars, postdoc mentorship program, welcome events, Slack channel, and supporting organizers of the academic job search workshop series.
Seminars Committee (SEMINARS)
Faculty: Hillel Adesnik. Staff: Liz Gardner, Peony Yu
Coordinates the Neuroscience Seminar Series, and interfaces with PhD program staff to integrate the Student-Invited Seminar Series into the schedule.
Retreat committee (RETREAT)
Members: Michael Yartsev (Faculty Lead), Barbara Peterson (HWNI Executive Director), Kristin Nichols (HWNI Manager), Dan Feldman (Neuro Dept Chair), Liz Gardner (Neuro Dept Manager), Frédéric Theunissen (Grad Program Director), Peony Yu (Grad Program Coordinator)
Plans the annual retreat, including speakers and schedule.