Trainee Info

See Our Current Trainees Here

Welcome to the trainee information page. Here you can find out what the traineeship program has to offer and acknowledge that you as the trainees have a responsibility to ensure that the traineeship program is providing you with programs and opportunities for your future endeavors. If at any time you have suggestions for improvements or changes to the program, you should feel free to email nrt@bu.edu.

As a Trainee, you will:

  • Participate in Boot Camp as an attendee during your 1st year of graduate study. Former participants can be called upon to be an assistant in follow-on years during your graduate program. This year’s Boot Camp will take place in January 2021.
  • Take core courses during your 2nd and 3rd years. Individualized plans for each trainee will be developed between your PI and the NRT Education Committee.
  • Receive training in communications throughout your graduate study.
  • Participate in journal clubs. 3rd year students have an opportunity to be on the journal club committee. Your responsibilities are to organize a listing of various Journal Clubs in microscopy, neuroscience, and other topical areas of interest to the neurophotonics students. The journal club committee will be responsible for providing information to all of the trainees on the locations, meeting times, and topics for participation in these journal clubs.
  • Participate in neurophotonics seminars. 4th and 5th year students have an opportunity to be part of the seminar series committee. You will be an active member engaging the community in the Neurophotonics seminar series. Your first task during the summer semesters is proposing a list of speakers to the NRT UtB: Neurophotonics Academic Committee. After approval, as a member of the seminar series committee, you will invite and be the ambassador for the invited speaker during their visit to BU.  Seminar series committee participants will be responsible for website announcements, advertising, and organization of the seminar.
  • Be an active member of the Student Leadership Council. Every month there will be an opportunity to meet and discuss issues, upcoming events, challenges, and improvements to the neurophotonics NRT.
  • Attend and participate in the Annual Symposia. Expected involvement includes participation in poster sessions, research talks, invited speaker ambassadors, etc.
  • Participate in neuroethics and professional development training. This will include industry/academic panel discussions that will be organized during the academic year.

As a trainee, you are eligible to apply for:

  • Travel Awards to conferences (SPIE, OSA, SfN) at any time during your graduate study. You must submit a paper or poster for presentation and it must be accepted at the conference. There is an expectation that you will also apply for travel scholarships through the conference to help off-set conference fees. These awards can be re-applied for two years after your first award.
  • Placement in one of many summer school programs or workshops in neurophotonics.  If you are accepted, please email nrt@bu.edu for assistance with funding your summer school opportunity.
  • Participation in recruiting trips to provide information about our training program and neurophotonics research at BU.

Acknowledging the NRT program in presentations and publications:

  • In any posters, presentations, or publications, please be sure to acknowledge the NSF NRT program and use NPC and NSF logos (below).
  • The funding acknowledgement is the NSF NRT: National Science Foundation Research Traineeship Program (NRT): Understanding the Brain (UtB): Neurophotonics DGE-1633516.