Programs encompassing neuroscience + stem cells + tissue engineering ?

[tanjain]

Greetings, fellow TheGradCafe-dwellers!

I will be applying to doctoral programs as an international student this year, for Fall'18. I have a Bachelors in Biotechnology from India and a Masters in Biotechnology from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering. While at Penn, I gathered a semester's worth of lab experience in an epigenetics lab and an organ-on-a-chip lab each. I also went through a summer internship at the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) during which I worked with CRISPR and TALEN gene editing in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and I later joined NYSCF after Penn as a Research Associate II to work with iPSCs to study demyelination in multiple sclerosis. I will have had two years' worth of research experience at NYSCF when I start a program in Fall'18.

Through my education and lab experience, I have become interested in the use of stem cells to study human disease, specifically those involving the brain, and also possibly using tissue engineering in the whole scenario. More recently, I have thought about taking a crash course in Python so I can consider studying neural networks as well. Even though the use of stem cells + tissue engineering to study the brain is a very narrow niche, it makes it difficult to choose a suitable doctoral program-  BMS/ Neurobiology/ Tissue Engineering ? I am currently eyeing schools on both coasts, over California, New York, Boston, DC, Philly and Chicago.

It would be great if current students/ veterans in any of the fields could help me out by pointing me towards some good programs with relevant coursework and a collaborative research environment.

Thank you!! 

Tanya

Edited May 11, 2017 by tanjain

[BabyScientist]

I'm sure there's more than this, but Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is LA has a small Biomedical Sciences graduate program, many students from which work in the Regenerative Medicine Institute, many faculty from which study the brain using stem cells.