Each spring, the ANDP holds a meeting to provide a forum for the discussion of issues vital to neuroscience education and research. The 2006 ANDP Spring Meeting was held May 6-7 in Bethesda, MD, and was attended by approximately 70 people representing ANDP member programs, federal funding agencies, and the Society for Neuroscience. 

Meeting sessions addressed three timely topics in neuroscience education and research training. One session concerned Predictors of Success in Graduate School. Richard Wagner (Florida State University) reviewed the research on which measures of success in graduate school (e.g., grade point average, completion of degree) are predicted by GRE scores. To view his presentation, click here. Daniel Denecke (Council of Graduate Schools) gave an interim report on the PhD Completion Project (http://www.phdcompletion.org/), which is identifying what program features and interventions are effective in increasing retention and degree completion rates. A second session focused on The Neuroscience Textbook of the Future. Rae Nishi (University of Vermont and ANDP Councilor) led a panel discussion of questions such as 1) why use a textbook at all? 2) what format should future textbooks be--will they even be books? 3) how can modern media be better used in conjunction with textbooks? 4) how can instructors easily update lectures in content areas outside their own areas of expertise? Graig Donini (Sinauer Press), Janet Foltin (Garland Press), George Pollack (University of Texas at Austin), and Richard Lewis (Pomona College) served as panelists representing the publishing and educational perspectives. A third session addressed the training of non-US citizens in US labs. Alison Hall (Case Western Reserve University and ANDP President-elect) outlined the challenges that are commonly faced, such as limited mechanisms of support of trainees, developing trainee English communication skills, and cultural differences in research training. Ed Stricker (University of Pittsburgh and ANDP Past-president) showed data from the ANDP 2003 Survey of Neuroscience Departments and Programs indicating that the majority of neuroscience postdoctoral trainees are non-US citizens, and that the pattern of their placement after postdoctoral training is similar to that of US citizens (most take a faculty or another postdoc position). Bai Lu (NIH) shared his experiences as both a non-US trainee and a trainer of non-US citizens in the US. All three sessions generated lively discussions, and ANDP members had the opportunity to share their own experiences in tackling these important questions and problems. 

Two speakers at the Spring Meeting gave exceptionally inspirational addresses on neuroscience education. George Walker (Carnegie Foundation) reported on the recently-completed Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate (CID; http://www.carnegiefoundation.org), in which CID Partner Programs in neuroscience engaged in thoughtful analysis of the purpose of the PhD degree and in constructive discussion of why training programs do things the way they do. The CID intended that this active engagement would allow programs to assess their effectiveness in helping trainees to develop the habits of mind that facilitate success and a sense of responsibility as stewards of the discipline. The stewardship theme was also struck in the after-dinner address by William Cameron (link) (Oregon Health Sciences University and Co-chair of the SfN Public Education and Communications Committee), who stressed the importance of public education in neuroscience and outlined several ways in which the ANDP and SfN could partner to accomplish our shared goals. 

The ANDP will meet again in Fall, 2006, during the SfN meeting in Atlanta, and will present the ANDP Education Award. During the SfN meeting the ANDP will also sponsor two activities for trainees, the ANDP Forum on Professional Development and the Student Hospitality Suite. 

Cheryl Sisk
ANDP President, 2005-2006