Moto-IGERT

Moto-IGERT bridges Chicago institutions to develop a rich graduate training program in motor control and movement. Faculty laboratories in the program include foci in neurobiology, biomechanics and engineering, development and evolution. Student projects bridge these areas to develop exciting new lines of inquiry. Learn about our application process and explore our program’s goals and features, community and activities here.

Foundations

Neuromechanics

Neuromechanics integrates sensory and motor neurobiology, musculoskeletal biology and biomechanics to examine how animals move from morphological, physiological and functional perspectives.
Development of Motor
Control and Movement
Early life history is time of major and often rapid morphological, physiological and functional change. The development of motor control and movement through this period is a fundamental yet poorly understood area of neuromechanics.
Evolution of Motor Control
and Movement
Motor control and movement systems reflect their evolutionary histories. Examining such systems in evolutionary contexts not only informs our understanding of neuromechanical design and function but also provide insight into evolutionary history and processes.

News

The Influence of Auditory Feedback on Vocal Sequence Production

Former IGERT trainee Etienne Mandersheid received his Ph.D. in Computational Neuroscience from the University of Chicago in June 2014.

Field Museum Exhibit: "The Machine Inside: Biomechanics"

IGERT PI and Steering Committee faculty Melina Hale, Callum Ross and Mark Westneat all contributed to a new exhibit at Field Museum: "The Machine Inside: Biomechanics" which opened March 12, 2014.

Outreach: Applied Math Leadership Board at Northwestern University

IGERT trainee Namrata Patel has served as co-chair of the Applied Math Leadership Board since Summer 2013, sponsored by the NWU Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics Student Leadership Council.

Brains! Workshops in the Palmer Lab, March 24-27, 2014.

IGERT trainees Brett Aiello, Hilary Katz and Justin Lieber participated in workshops in Dr. Stephanie Palmer's University of Chicago lab leading students from a local Chicago elementary school through hands-on experiments to learn about neural signaling, including recording from a live cockroach leg and EMG recording of the students' own muscles.

Evolutionary Neuroscience Lesson for high school students February 26, 2014

IGERT trainee Yashesvini Vinayak Ram participated in "The Think Tank," sponsored by the UChicago NEURO club and UChicago CASCADE. Graduate neuroscience students talked with CPS students in grades 9-11 about the evolution of the brain and natural selection as a mechanism for evolution. Students were able to examine brains of various animals and compare their structures, then participated in a class debate on what traits can be affected by natural selection and what traits are plastic (learned during a lifetime).

IGERT presence at January 24, 2014 University of Chicago GradUCon Conference.

IGERT PI Melina Hale was a panelist in the session "Women in the Sciences: Addressing Common Challenges," partially organized by IGERT PD Carolyn Johnson.

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