Faculty Listing

Research Experience. The basic component of the NSS Study Program is an in-depth research experience in a basic or translational laboratory under the supervision of one of the participating faculty. Involvement in the research process can be at several levels. Most students wish to work full-time in a laboratory pursuing an independent research project, including an analysis of experiments and communication of the results. Students in this category who wish to attend courses are usually advised to audit them. Other students may wish to combine a part-time research experience with extensive course work. The appropriate level for each student should be determined in consultation with the study program directors and the research mentor. All students are expected to prepare written statements of their goals for the year with a detailed plan for accomplishing these goals. This could take the form of stating the problem to be studied, the hypotheses, and an outline of the work to be done. A final thesis is required and may take the form of a research paper or literature review. Publication is not required, but many students have been successful in publishing a report with their preceptors.

Seminar. Students enrolled in the program meet weekly with the program director and mentors for an informal seminar. In the beginning of the fall term, seminars focus on the planned projects of each student. At the end of the spring semester, the seminar focuses on work accomplished as each student presents a report of her or his research. During the rest of the year, invited speakers are asked to address particular topics of interest to be decided upon by the group.