Understandingthe principles underlying brain function and discovering how to develop artificial systems that use the same principles are key issues for the future success of medical sciences and for the development of artificial intelligent systems.
Answering these questions requires expertise that extends across multiple academic disciplines. To approach these questions, researchers must work at the interface between physics and medical sciences, engineering and cognitive sciences, and mathematics and computer science.
With the help of a mentor, students draw up their own individual curricula. The programme consists of a set of core modules, elective core modules, elective modules, and a Master's thesis and short projects.
The elective core modules cover basics of neuroscience. These are divided into three categories: systems neuroscience, neural computation and theoretical neurosciences, and neurotechnologies and neuromorphic engineering. Students have to attend courses from at least two of the three listed categories. Elective modules allow students to expand and deepen their specific skills and knowledge.
Bachelor's degree in the following disciplines: neurosciences, information technology, electrical engineering, biology, physics, computer sciences, chemistry, mathematics, biomedicine, mechanical/chemical/control engineering, or similar subjects.
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Mechanisms controlling the emergence of lethal neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC), especially those that are consequences of treatment-induced suppression of the androgen receptor (AR), remain elusive. Using a unique model of AR pathway inhibitor-resistant prostate cancer, we identified AR-dependent control of the neural transcription factor BRN2 (encoded by POU3F2) as a major driver of NEPC and aggressive tumor growth, both in vitro and in vivo Mechanistic studies showed that AR directly suppresses BRN2 transcription, which is required for NEPC, and BRN2-dependent regulation of the NEPC marker SOX2. Underscoring its inverse correlation with classic AR activity in clinical samples, BRN2 expression was highest in NEPC tumors and was significantly increased in castration-resistant prostate cancer compared with adenocarcinoma, especially in patients with low serum PSA. These data reveal a novel mechanism of AR-dependent control of NEPC and suggest that targeting BRN2 is a strategy to treat or prevent neuroendocrine differentiation in prostate tumors.
Significance: Understanding the contribution of the AR to the emergence of highly lethal, drug-resistant NEPC is critical for better implementation of current standard-of-care therapies and novel drug design. Our first-in-field data underscore the consequences of potent AR inhibition in prostate tumors, revealing a novel mechanism of AR-dependent control of neuroendocrine differentiation, and uncover BRN2 as a potential therapeutic target to prevent emergence of NEPC. Cancer Discov; 7(1); 54-71. 2016 AACR.This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1.
Our faculty maintains extensive collaborations with the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, and the Duke University School of Medicine departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Radiology, and Duke's interdepartmental Program in Neurobiology.
Duke offers master's students a 12-credit Certificate in Neural Engineering. Students who earn it gain analytical skills and practical experience which will allow them to successfully compete for opportunities as engineers in the medical device industry and as doctoral students at highly-regarded universities.
This master's certificate program is available to Duke Master of Engineering (MEng) and Master of Science (MS) students who intend to pursue careers or enter doctoral programs relating to neural engineering.
Warren Grill's team works on fundamental questions and applied development in electrical stimulation of the nervous system to restore function to individuals with neurological impairment or injury. More
Using a combination of neurophysiology and biomedical engineering, Marc Sommer's research focuses on the interaction between brain areas during visual perception, decision-making and motor planning. More
Cameron McIntyre's research involves improving deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of movement disorders and provides the fundamental technologies necessary for the effective application of DBS to new clinical areas. More
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The development of the brain requires the exquisite coordination of progenitor proliferation and differentiation to achieve complex circuit assembly. It has been suggested that glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) acts as an integrating molecule for multiple proliferation and differentiation signals because of its essential role in the RTK, Wnt and Shh signaling pathways. We created conditional mutations that deleted both the α and β forms of GSK-3 in mouse neural progenitors. GSK-3 deletion resulted in massive hyperproliferation of neural progenitors along the entire neuraxis. Generation of both intermediate neural progenitors and postmitotic neurons was markedly suppressed. These effects were associated with the dysregulation of β-catenin, Sonic Hedgehog, Notch and fibroblast growth factor signaling. Our results indicate that GSK-3 signaling is an essential mediator of homeostatic controls that regulate neural progenitors during mammalian brain development.
We thank F. Polleux, L. Pevny and E. Anton for valuable advice and comments on the manuscript. We are also grateful to L. Goins and A. McKell for animal care and M. Aita for technical support. This research was supported by grants from the US National Institutes of Health (NS050968 to W.D.S. and NS045892, which supports the Confocal and Multiphoton Imaging and Expression Localization Cores of University of North Carolina Neuroscience Center) and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (MOP 74711 to J.R.W.).
W.-Y.K. designed and conducted most of the experiments, analyzed the data, and co-wrote the paper. X.W. contributed to the in vitro experiments and ideas. Y.W. conducted western blotting and contributed technical assistance. B.W.D. and S.P. generated the GSK-3 mutant lines. J.R.W. contributed to experimental design, provided intellectual guidance and co-wrote the paper. W.D.S. supervised the work, contributed to the experimental design, provided intellectual guidance and co-wrote the paper.
Area of Study and Research
The Graduate School of Neural & Behavioural Sciences has been educating students since 1999. The masters program has its focus on systems, behavioural and cognitive neuroscience, as well as on brain imaging techniques, both with respect to their physiological and technological basis and their application in neurology, psychiatry and neurocognition.
The pristine formation of complex organs depends on sharp temporal and spatial control of gene expression. Therefore, epigenetic mechanisms have been frequently attributed a central role in controlling cell fate determination. A prime example for this is the first discovered and still most studied epigenetic mark, DNA methylation, and the development of the most complex mammalian organ, the brain. Recently, the field of epigenetics has advanced significantly: new DNA modifications were discovered, epigenomic profiling became widely accessible, and methods for targeted epigenomic manipulation have been developed. Thus, it is time to challenge established models of epigenetic gene regulation. Here, we review the current state of knowledge about DNA modifications, their epigenomic distribution, and their regulatory role. We will summarize the evidence suggesting they possess crucial roles in neurogenesis and discuss whether this likely includes lineage choice regulation or rather effects on differentiation. Finally, we will attempt an outlook on how questions, which remain unresolved, could be answered soon.
Figure 1. Chemical structures of DNA modifications: five DNA modifications and relevant enzymes are depicted. DNMTs methylate 5C resulting in 5mC, which can be further modified by TET enzymes to 5hmC, 5fC, and 5caC. Enzymes of the TDG/BER pathway have been implicated in removal of the DNA modifications.
Figure 2. Common methods for widespread detection of DNA modifications. (A) Conversion based detection methods. Bisulfite (BS) sequencing, oxidative bisulfite (oxBS) sequencing, and Tet assisted BS (TAB) sequencing enable the epigenomic distinction of 5C, 5mC, and 5hC, while similar techniques separating 5fC and 5caC have been developed as well (Plongthongkum et al., 2014). Sequence below indicates readout expected in NGS. For comprehensive analysis of DNA modifications several detection methods must be combined. (B) Antibody based detection methods. DNA Immunoprecipitations (DIP) using modification specific antibodies allow the quantitative analysis of epigenomic distribution (making use of NGS or arrays). meDIP (methylated DNA immunoprecipitation) has been the archetype of this methodology (Weber et al., 2005), but several variants for other DNA modifications have been reported as well recently (comprehensively reviewed in Plongthongkum et al., 2014).
Figure 3. Proposed molecular effects and consequences of DNA modifications: DNA modifications can be specifically bound by reader proteins. Those can either have a direct effect or compete with DNA modification independent transcription factors and thus influence transcription through gene activation, repression, non-coding transcription or insulation.
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