Postbacc Program (GATORAADE)

GMS 6007 Course Description
Neuroscience is the science of how the nervous system functions and is the basis for understanding nearly all aspects of modern medicine and the biomedical research sciences.

This course covers the basic background required to understand current topics in the field of Neuroscience, a rapidly changing area that impacts several fields of medicine including public health, public policy, sports medicine, military, and the pharmaceutical industry.

Course Objectives and Goals
Provide students with:

• The ability to pursue more in-depth studies of specific Neuroscience topics.
• A working knowledge of the field of Neuroscience.
• A foundational understanding of the basic anatomy, organization, and cells that make up the central nervous system.
• Knowledge of the anatomy and functions of the primary sensory and motor systems.
• A basic understanding of the function of higher order Neuroscience systems including language, cognition, and memory.
• An overview of nervous system development.
• An appreciation of the significance of emerging findings in the field.

GMS 6705 Course Description
Functional Human Neuroanatomy is a complex but rewarding field of study. The driving force behind studies of the human brain continues to be our desire to explain normal human behavior and cognition and the changes in behavior that often result from injury and disease.

This course is organized into seven modules, each of which covers a key human neuroanatomical system in the brain stem. The primary focus of this course is mastery of human neuroanatomy and understanding how the various structures in the brain are connected to form functional neural systems. Beginning with Module 3 and moving forward you will work through a new Focus Case Study that will be associated with each module. Each Focus Case Study describes a patient exhibiting symptoms characteristic of disruption of the neural system being studied that week. Over the course of the week, you will “solve” the multi-assignment case study using the information presented in the module and in previous modules. These case studies have been designed to help you master the neuroanatomy and functions of the primary neural system under study.

Course Objectives and Goals

• Provide students with the knowledge to explain how disruption of brain structure leads to changes in human behavior.
• Provide students with a working knowledge of human neuroanatomy.
• Describe the anatomy and functions of key neural systems including motor and somatosensory systems, the cranial nerves, and control of eye movements.

GMS 6796 Course Description
This comprehensive course will thoroughly address the primary causes of aging and the history of research on aging. Theories of aging will be applied to the brain and cognitive decline, encompassing biomarkers from biochemistry to senescent physiology, as well as structural changes contributing to hippocampal-dependent memory and prefrontal cortex-dependent executive function. Examples will be drawn from recent animal and human research examining cellular and molecular mechanisms. Additionally, differences in the rate of aging due to resilience, compensation, cognitive reserve, and the role of aging in diseases will be discussed. Age-associated inflammatory markers, redox regulation, and epigenetics of aging will be explored. Age-related changes in synaptic plasticity, including long-term potentiation and long-term depression, and their impact on cognitive function will be explained. Finally, mitochondrial dysfunction and its therapeutic implications, including the use of dietary supplements and exercise, as well as related topics, will be discussed.

Course Objectives and Goals
Provide students with:

• Fundamental knowledge and skills in aging neuroscience
• A deep understanding of the aging brain, its associated cellular and physiological alterations, and the impact these have on synaptic and cognitive function
• An introduction to basic concepts in slice physiology recorded from hippocampal brain slices
• The skills and confidence to undertake in-depth studies on specific topics within this domain
• The ability to:
  • recognize the significance of questions and emerging findings in this field
  • identify the various theories, mechanisms, and hallmarks of aging
  • describe early behavioral measures of cognitive decline in humans and animal models
  • discuss sex differences and reserve/resilience mechanisms that may modulate the trajectory of age-related cognitive decline
  • explore age-associated Neuroinflammation and Oxidative stress

GMS 6021 Course Description
This course will examine the basic principles underlying the development and organization of the nervous system. At the end of this course, students will be able to answer the following questions:

• How and where does the nervous system originate?
• How are the cell types that constitute the nervous system generated?
• How do progenitors know which cell type to become?
• How do progenitors find and reach their appropriate location in the brain?
• How do maturing neurons form synaptic connections?
• What are the limits of plasticity in the brain?

Course Objectives and Goals
Provide students with:

• The ability to pursue more in-depth studies of specific Developmental Neuroscience topics.
• A working knowledge of the field of Developmental Neuroscience.
• A foundational understanding of the basic principles underlying the development and organization of the nervous system.
• A basic understanding of the fundamental processes underlying brain development.
• An appreciation of the significance of emerging findings in the field.

GMS 6073 Course Description
This course will cover advanced topics in the field of neurodevelopment and is intended to be a sequel to GMS6021 Organization and Development of the Nervous System. Topics for discussion will relate to neural tube development, ventricle and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) development, neurogenesis and migration, and how genetic mutation and environmental insult affect a normally developing nervous system. At the end of this course, students will be able to answer the following questions:

• What are the molecular and cellular mechanisms that ensure normal neural tube folding and closure? How do disruptions in this process lead to neural tube defects? 
• How do the ventricles form, generate and mediate flow of cerebral spinal fluid? How do disruptions of this process lead to hydrocephaly?
• How does the cerebral cortex specify the right number of neural cell types and correctly position them in the cortex? How does failure of this process lead to a spectrum of cortical malformations?
• How do chromosomal anomalies such as Trisomy affect normal brain development? What are the mechanisms underlying Down Syndrome?
• How do changes in oxygen and blood flow during the perinatal period alter the trajectory of brain development, e.g. in Cerebral Palsy?

Course Objectives and Goals
Provide students with:

• The ability to pursue more in-depth studies of specific Developmental Neuroscience topics.
• An advanced understanding of fundamental processes underlying brain development, primarily at a molecular and cellular level.
• An appreciation for how identification of new gene/protein function has led to major advances in understanding CNS development and why development goes awry in certain diseases.
• Primary literature related to major neurodevelopmental disorders, and the disruption of biological processes that underlie these disorders.

GMS 6713 Course Description
This course focuses on the neurobiological basis of neurobehavioral disorders including autism spectrum disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The course will cover the clinical presentation of these disorders as well as the genetics, neuropathology, structural and functional brain changes as indexed by neuroimaging, risk factors, biomarkers, relevant animal models, and biomedical treatments.

This course is designed to integrate the clinical phenomenology of major neurobehavioral disorders with what is known about their genetic and neurobiological basis. A significant focus of the course will be the integration of pre-clinical and clinical literature, examining findings that range from molecular and cellular mechanisms to phenomenology. For each disorder, the objective will be to explore 1) clinical presentation, 2) risk factors (genetic, environmental) 3) clinical neuroscience (neuropathology and neuroimaging, neurochemistry) 3) relevant animal models and 4) biological treatments.

Course Objectives and Goals
Provide students with the knowledge to:

• Discuss the strengths and limitations of biomedical treatments for each disorder.
• Distinguish the core clinical features of neurobehavioral and neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Identify the genetic etiology and neuropathological alterations associated with each disorder
• Describe key animal models relevant to each disorder and identify key translational findings from these models.
• Illustrate key neurobiological mechanisms that appear to mediate the expression of specific neurobehavioral disorders that have been identified from specific model systems.

GMS 6720 Course Description
To understand how the brain learns and remembers requires an integration of psychological concepts and behavioral methods with mechanisms of synaptic plasticity and systems neuroscience. The Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Third Edition, provides a synthesis of this interdisciplinary field. Each chapter makes the key concepts transparent and accessible to a reader with minimal background in either neurobiology or psychology and is extensively illustrated with full-color photographs and figures depicting important concepts and experimental data. The course will use most of this book to teach the biological underpinnings of human learning and memory.

Course Objectives and Goals
Provide students with the ability to:

• Describe the experiments that lead up to the presented theories of the neurobiology of learning and memory.
• Describe the anatomical and physiological (mainly LTP) basis of learning and memory.

GMS 6750 Course Description
This course is designed to provide a working understanding of five neurological disorders:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Parkinson’s disease
• Huntington’s disease
• Lysosomal storage diseases
• Glioma

The material presented will include the symptoms, pathology, etiology, and, because there are no significant disease modifying treatments for any of these disorders a brief review of currently emerging treatment strategies will also be presented.

Course Objectives and Goals
Provide students with the knowledge to:

• Be able to suggest and discuss potential treatment approaches for these diseases
• Describe the symptoms of each disease and its prevalence in the population
• Compare and contrast the neuropathological features of each disease
• Describe how the neuropathology contributes to the disease phenotypes
• Compare potential etiological similarities between the neurodegenerative disorders
• Describe the molecular bases for each disease if known

GMS 6793 Course Description
Images are powerful tools that excel at conveying complex and often subtle ideas or concepts at speeds unrivaled by other forms of information-based media. Their historic contributions to our understanding of microbiology and pathology as well as their more contemporary roles in modern clinical diagnostics can hardly be overstated. This course is designed to provide a historical perspective on the development of those research-based and clinical imaging techniques that were most foundational to the fields of neuroscience and neurology. Assignments are designed to help students understand the conditions and context under which numerous application-based imaging methods were discovered and developed. In addition, they will better understand both the features and limitations associated with these imaging methods to gain a better perspective of when these imaging protocols are or are not appropriate to employ.

Course Objectives and Goals
Provie students with the ability to:

• Perform basic calculations for the preparation of reagents necessary for staining and immunolabeling protocols
• Identify the origins of neuroimaging methods with the most relevance to neuroscience and neurology.
• Identify the components of microscope assemblies used for the purpose of neuroimaging.
• Describe the physical mechanisms behind signal generation, signal collection, and image reconstruction in various neuroimaging techniques.
• Compare and contrast neuroimaging methods based on their salient characteristics such as what types of samples can be imaged, what biomolecular targets can be identified, and resolution limits.
• Identify challenges specific to visualizing the spinal cord and brain as well as describe how these challenges were overcome through the development of histological techniques (historically) and clinical imaging techniques (contemporarily).

GMS 7795 NI-II Course Description
Designed to build upon topics introduced in Neuroimaging I by delving into the specific image and contrast characteristics which comprise each neuroimaging-related methodology. Assignments in this course are designed to help students understand the content of neuroimages, why they appear as they do (i.e. what factors determine their contrast characteristics and relative signal properties) and what can be inferred about the specimen under investigation based on the content of the observed imaging data.

Course Objectives and Goals
Provide students with the ability to:

• Identify the contrast characteristics associated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques most relevant to neuroimaging studies.
• Identify cellular and sub-cellular components of neural tissues based on the contrast properties of various histological methods common to neuroimaging.
• Identify which histology stains / contrast techniques are best employed in neuroimaging studies based on application-specific requirements: in-vitro, ex-vivo, or in-vivo.
• Describe the specific protein targets and associated reporter tools which allowed histologists to differentiate between the various components of the nervous system.
• Compare the excitation and emission peaks of the most common fluorophores used in neuroimaging applications.
• Explain the density-based quantification metrics used in X-Ray and Computed Tomography scans
• Compare and contrast the purpose and content of SPECT and PET based neuroimages.
• Identify neural structures observed in an ultrasound image.
• Explain the cellular signaling mechanism responsible for calcium-based functional imaging.

GMS 6797 Course Description
The ability to effectively communicate scientific ideas through written, poster, or oral presentations is critically important in professional settings. Persons who excel in these skills often have a tremendous advantage over their peers in terms of job opportunities and career advancement. This course is designed to provide students with foundational knowledge that will enable them to effectively improve their communication skills.

Course Objectives and Goals
Provide students with the knowledge to:

• Create and deliver effective poster and oral presentations
• Improve their scientific writing
• Apply effective strategies for utilizing specific tools for scientific communication including creation of digital figures, talk slide layouts, and professional posters
• Describe how individuals read scientific documents and what the readers’ expectations are
• Describe the importance of word selection and how word use affects writing clarity
• Recognize and write logically cohesive passages
• Create “publication-ready” digital scientific figures

GMS 7795 FAS Course Description
This course explores the neurobiological mechanisms underlying substance use and addiction, with a particular focus on brain circuits, neurotransmitter systems, and translational implications for treatment and policy. Throughout the semester, we will examine how drugs alter neural function, how chronic exposure reshapes brain circuits, and how modern neuroscience informs prevention and clinical care.

Addiction is no longer viewed as a moral failing or purely behavioral problem. It is understood as a chronic, relapsing brain disorder involving changes in reward, stress, and executive control systems. In this course, we will approach addiction from a scientific and evidence-based perspective.

Course Objectives and Goals
Prepare students to develop a comprehensive understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying addiction, including neural circuits, neurotransmitter systems, and evidence-based treatment approaches. The course aims to equip students with the skills to critically evaluate scientific literature and apply neurobiological concepts to addiction research and clinical contexts.

GMS 7795 FHN-II Course Description
Functional Human Neuroanatomy is a complex but rewarding field of study. The driving force behind studies of the human brain continues to be our desire to explain normal human behavior and cognition and the changes in behavior that often result from injury and disease.

This course is a continuation of GMS 6705 Functional Human Anatomy I and is organized into six modules, each of which covers a key human neuroanatomical system in the forebrain. The primary focus of this course is mastery of human forebrain neuroanatomy and understanding how the various structures in the forebrain are connected to form functional neural systems.

Course Objectives and Goals

• Provide students with the knowledge to evaluate how disruption of brain structure leads to changes in human behavior and cognition.
• Provide students with a working knowledge of human forebrain neuroanatomy.
• Describe the anatomy and functions of key neural systems including visual, auditory, vestibular sensory systems, the higher order motor modulatory systems, the limbic system, and higher cortical function.

GMS 7795 HB Course Description
Homeostasis is a fundamental concept in biology and neurobiology, and three of the most-studied themes are Thermoregulation, Body Fluid Balance (including drinking), and Energy Balance (including eating). Major strides have been made in the past few years in going from a description of the behavioral and physiological responses that underlie these mechanisms of homeostasis, to understanding the detailed brain mechanisms involved.

Course Objectives and Goals
By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Apply principles of neural homeostatic regulation to health and disease contexts.
• Explain the neural mechanisms that regulate thermoregulation, body fluid balance, and energy balance.
• Analyze how neural, endocrine, and physiological systems interact to maintain homeostasis.
• Interpret experimental and clinical research findings related to brain control of homeostatic processes.
• Evaluate models and methodologies used to study neural regulation of homeostasis.

GMS 7795 Pain Course Description
Pain is a complex and essential biological process with profound clinical significance. This course provides an overview of the neuroscience underlying pain perception, transmission, and modulation, with an emphasis on both normal and pathological processes. Students will explore major pain pathways, key neural structures, and the molecular mechanisms involved in acute and chronic pain. Clinical conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia and neuropathic pain will be discussed alongside current and emerging strategies for pain management. This course integrates foundational neuroscience with relevant clinical perspectives to foster a deeper understanding of pain and its treatment.

Course Objectives and Goals
Provide students with a deeper understanding of how neurological processes regulate various physiological systems to maintain a balance compatible with life and the environment.

GMS 7795 SP Course Description
Explores physiological foundations of synaptic plasticity and its role in memory formation and retrieval. Describes molecular, cellular, and systems-level mechanisms underlying plastic changes in neural circuits, with emphasis on synaptic modulation: long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD). Includes an in-depth look at how synaptic potentials are recorded from CA3-CA1 hippocampal synapses in vitro, and how electrical stimulation in hippocampal brain slices induces LTP and LTD.

Course Objectives and Goals
Provide students with advanced knowledge in the field of synaptic plasticity, enabling them to:

• Analyze the relationship between synaptic plasticity and memory formation.
• Define field potentials and explain how they are recorded from brain slices under in vitro conditions.
• Describe synaptic plasticity and define different forms.
• Explain how various forms of synaptic plasticity, including LTP and LTD, are induced by electrical or chemical interventions.
• Identify and discuss the biochemical mechanisms that contribute to LTP and LTD.

https://ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bee4QJMAhnArYVg

• Joe Abisambra, PhD
  Neuroscience
  Environmental factors and related neural mechanisms driving neuroprotection across the ifespan. Neurophysiology of stress and exercise and cognitive function.
• Stephen Anton, PhD
  Physiology & Aging
  The influence of lifestyle factors on people’s health and performance as they a.e.
• Melissa Armstrong, MD
  Neurology
  Investigates causes and outcomes of hospitalization in Lewy body dementia.
• Michelle Bedenbaugh, PhD
  Neuroscience
  Neural circuits that drive feeding, stress and other motivated behaviors.
• Jennifer Bizon, PhD
  Neuroscience
  Focused on understanding brain aging and its implications for cognitive function.
• Gemma Casadesus, PhD
  Pharmacology and Therapeutics
  Physiological factors that impact brain function and drive or protect against Alzheimer’s Disease.
• Paramita Chakrabarty, PhD
  Neuroscience
  Role of neuroinflammation in Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias, Parkinson’s disease.
• Yenisel Cruz-Almeida, PhD
  Community Dentistry
  Neural circuits and mechanisms underlying pain perception in humans across the lifespan, neuroimaging.
• Natalie Ebner, PhD
  Psychology
  Lifespan development and aging.
• Karyn Esser, PhD
  Physiology and Aging
  Role of circadian rhythms in skeletal muscle physiology and systemic health.
• Ben Giasson, PhD
  Neuroscience
  Molecular mechanisms of Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias.
• Sung Min Han, PhD
  Physiology and Aging
  Role of mitochondrial function in cognitive aging using C. elegans as model.
• Jeffrey Jones, PhD
  Neuroscience
  Neurogenomics, age-related metabolic changes in neurons and their role in Alzheimer’s disease.
• Habibeh Khoshbouei, PhD
  Neuroscience
  Role of dopamine in neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, dopaminergic regulation of brain-body circuits, neuroinflammation.
• Matt LaVoie, PhD
  Neurology
  Molecular mechanisms of adult onset neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease.
• Shellie-Anne Levy, PhD
  Clinical and Health Psychology
  Cognitive changes in older adults with neurodegenerative disorders. Impact of health, psychosocial disparities, and resiliency factors in influencing neurodegenerative disorders.
• Ben Lewis, PhD
  Psychiatry
  Substance Use Disorders and Addiction, Brain Aging, Neurorehabilitation, Computational neuroscience, Neuropsychology.
• Ashley Malin, PhD
  Epidemiology
  Impact of environmental toxicants and nutrition on various health outcomes such as neurodegenerative disorders, cardiometabolic disease and neurodevelopment.
• Alfonso Martin-Peña, PhD
  Neuroscience
  Neurogenetics, mechanisms of synaptic function in health and Neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Neurophysiology.
• Mark Moehle, PhD
  Pharmacology and Therapeutics
  Cellular mechanisms underlying motor and non-motor symptoms of Movement Disorders, Parkinson’s Disease, Dystonia, Lewy Body Dementia.
• Eric Porges, PhD
  Clinical and Health Psychology
  Age-related changes in cognition, neurophysiological processes that underlie, impact, and accelerate these changes.
• Aprinda I Queen, PhD
  Clinical and Health Psychology
  Develops personalized aging interventions focusing on cognition using cutting-edge technologies such as multi-modal neuroimaging, artificial intelligence methods, and individualized computational models.
• Barry Setlow, PhD
  Psychiatry
  Effects of exposure to drugs of abuse on cognition and on decision-making, animal models of age-related cognitive decline.

GATORAADE is a postbacc training program. Postbacc is short for “postbaccalaureate,” which means the program is tailored to trainees who have finished a bachelor’s degree.

Broadly, our area of expertise is the neurobiology of aging and neurodegenerative disorders; therefore, trainees interested in these topics are invited to apply. We provide a list of potential research labs from which trainees may choose to work in for the duration of the program (up to two years). In addition, the cost of our Neuroscience Online Certificate is covered, which can be completed during the first year of the postbacc.  

Our program is funded by an R25 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and, therefore, can only support trainees who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents (i.e., green card holders). These are NIH requirements. 

Yes, the stipend is $30k per year based on the NIH grant that provides funding. This is the amount that the trainee will receive, distributed every other week. The cost of the Neuroscience Online Certificate offered by our department is covered under the grant.  

If accepted, you may choose to remain in the lab you are already in, provided the Principal Investigator (PI) or mentor of that lab is listed as a potential host for our program (access the list of mentors here) and you will be working on an aging project. Alternatively, you may choose to work with someone else from the list. During the application process, you will need to select three possible PIs you are interested in working with.  

The GATORAADE program will provide a mentoring committee composed of the PI of the trainee’s lab, one of the Program PIs, and one near-peer mentor (a current Ph.D. student in the neuroscience field). This committee will meet regularly with trainees to help them devise a professional development plan that aligns with their career goals and will ensure that the plan is being implemented.  

During the summer at the end of Year 1, trainees will also attend weekly workshops covering a variety professional development topics.

Considering the goals of our program, we believe that two years would provide maximum benefit to our trainees. During the first year, trainees will take the classes required to complete the Neuroscience Online Certificate and begin developing their research project. In the second year, the primary focus is on completing the project and preparing for graduate school applications.  

No. Anyone with a recently completed bachelor’s degree can apply. 

No. The GATORAADE program is designed to begin in the fall semester, as are most of our graduate programs. Trainees will take 12 credits worth of classes starting in the fall. You are more than welcome to apply for the next fall semester in which you are available to start. 

The project–and, more broadly, the work GATORAADE trainees will be doing in the lab–is determined by the PI/mentor. Applicants are welcome to reach out to individual PIs listed as potential mentors to inquire about these and other lab-specific questions.  

This position is considered a full-time training opportunity. Any outside activities trainees wish to pursue must be discussed with their lab PI/mentor and approved by them.  

LOR writers should be people who know you well in a professional or academic setting and who can provide details about your qualifications for our program. The letters should also address your interest in research on aging and neurodegenerative disorders, as well as how our program could support your career goals. NOTE: Your LOR writers do not need to submit a letter with your application. If we decide to interview you, we will reach out to your LOR writers. Please ensure their email addresses are typed in correctly in your application.

Your personal statement should explain your motivation for participating in this program (Why do you want to pursue aging research? How would a postbacc help you achieve your goals?), along with what you expect to gain in terms of professional development and career direction (Where do you want to go from here? How can our program help you get there?). If you have relevant experience in research or healthcare, briefly describe it and explain how it has influenced your professional goals.