The Neuroscience Center pursues a multidisciplinary approach to neuroscience education and research. The primary mission of the Center is to foster and conduct science of the highest caliber that advances the understanding of brain function and diseases that affect the nervous system. A major role of the Center is to mentor the development of neuroscientists and clinician-neuroscientists through fundamental and translational research.
The Neuroscience Center has established, through the faculty associated with the Center, research programs directed toward Alzheimer’s disease, pain, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, brain and spinal cord injury, epilepsy, depression, blinding eye diseases, schizophrenia, and developmental and hearing disorders. Cutting-edge research programs on the molecular and cellular bases of neural diseases are the heart of the Center’s innovative educational programs: the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Graduate Program (M.S. in Neuroscience, Ph.D. in Neuroscience) attracts outstanding students from around the world; the Summer Undergraduate Neuroscience Program mentors top Louisiana undergraduate students through lectures and hands-on research; and postdoctoral fellowships train the next generation of investigators.
Several seminar programs and lectureships host renowned scientists who present their work to the LSUHSC community. The lecture series “Health Through Discovery” promotes the exchange of knowledge at the interface of clinical and research science. The annual statewide Neuroscience Retreat (in its 20th year in 2008) is a forum for the showcasing of neuroscience investigation and discovery and has been the birthplace of countless research collaborations.
The Center has had an economic impact in Louisiana through significant federal and private research funding. Innovations from the Center’s drug-discovery program have resulted in 19 patents or patent applications; some of these innovations formed the base of a start-up pharmaceutical/biotechnology company in Louisiana. In addition, the expertise of the Centers investigators has drawn the interest of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, and took the lead in the establishment of the Neurobiotechnology Program of Louisiana, which brings together Tulane University, LSUHSC-Shreveport, and LSUHSC-NO to promote the application of knowledge gained through research.
The Center is very active in technology transfer and is dedicated to the retention within the state of Louisiana of technologic expertise, patents, and the income generated through discovery. In 1997 the Center began its initial phase of consolidation of resources and recruitment of investigators. At present the Neuroscience Center is undertaking its second major expansion. The Neuroscience Center has had a pivotal role in innovative approaches to the treatment of disorders of the nervous system and the advancement of understanding the mechanisms of disease.