Department of Neuroscience

The Fishberg Department of Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai investigates the nervous system at the molecular, cellular, systems, and behavioral levels using a variety of model systems, from flies and worms, to transgenic mice and rats, to non-human primates as well as the human brain itself. We conduct collaborative research in nationally and internationally recognized laboratories, and are currently ranked second in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Our faculty continuously seeks to further neuroscience education, and conducts a large portion of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences’ neuroscience multidisciplinary training. 

We collaborate with other academic departments, centers and Institutes to provide initiatives such as joint seminars, residency programs, and postdoctoral fellowships. We also have multidisciplinary research collaborations with the Departments of Geriatrics and Adult Development, Psychiatry, Neurology, Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Immunology and many others.

About Animal Research

At Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, we support the responsible and ethical use of animals in research, which is necessary to achieve a greater understanding of biological process in health and disease and to discover new treatments for chronic and life-threatening illnesses. Animal research plays a vital role in scientific breakthroughs and is an essential part of virtually every medical discovery and the development of virtually every new medical treatment over the past 100 years. The topic of animal research is an important one. Laboratory animals are living creatures that deserve to be treated with respect, care and compassion. This belief is shared by our scientists who adhere to thorough and stringent laws, regulations and established practices in place to ensure the welfare of research animals. Animals provide irreplaceable and invaluable models for human systems and continue to play a crucial part in medical and scientific research aimed at conquering the main diseases of our time including Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, diabetes, depression, drug addiction, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, and psychosis, among many others.

The Friedman Brain Institute hosts a Neuroscience Retreat held in the spring of each year. Neuroscience is multidisciplinary by nature and, reflecting this, the scientists and physicians that contribute to the neurosciences at Mount Sinai hail from a variety of departments and campuses. The Retreat provides an opportunity for everyone in the Neuroscience community at Mount Sinai - faculty, fellows, students, researchers and clinicians - to meet and discuss their work in order to increase awareness of ongoing research and approaches, to foster new interactions, and to generate novel ideas.

The Friedman Brain Institute at Mount Sinai is deeply committed to promoting brain health by sharing our expertise with our partners and local community. In celebration of Brain Awareness Week, the Mentoring in Neuroscience Discovery at Sinai (MiNDS), with support from the Friedman Brain Institute and the Center for Excellence in Youth Education at Mount Sinai, is hosts an annual Brain Awareness Fair for local students, their parents, and community members.

Diversity in Neuroscience is an ongoing discussion on how to formulate positive steps by which we can make progress in diversity issues in neuroscience. Compared with two decades ago, women are now well represented, however, despite these gains, we still have a small number of senior women faculty and far fewer faculty from under-represented minority groups—at Mount Sinai and nationwide. Recent studies continue to document implicit biases in the scientific workplace, and concerns remain around quality of life issues and obstacles to faculty retention and promotion that affect everyone. Join our discussion.

Our Neuroscience graduate program provides rigorous, multidisciplinary and highly collaborative training that emphasizes translational and transformative discoveries about the molecules, cells, circuits and behaviors that constitute nervous system function in health and disease.  Here you will find a world-class faculty spanning multiple Departments, Institutes and Centers who investigate brain structure and function in a variety of model systems (e.g. worms, flies, rodents, non-human primates), as well as the human brain itself, using sophisticated approaches that are at the forefront of technological and conceptual advances.

MSNseminars (Mount Sinai Neuroscience seminars) is a seminar series that hosts leading postdoctoral fellows from around the country who give a seminar and meet with the neuroscience community at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

PhD in Neuroscience By the Numbers [PDF 3.4MB]