About

This is an image of the mouse nasal cavity taken using confocal microscopy. Pictured are the nasal turbinates, cribiform plate and olfactory sensory neurons. Olfactory sensory neurons are labeled in cyan.

The mission of the Penn State Neuroscience Institute (PSNI) is to catalyze scholarship across molecular, cellular, systems, and computational, translational, cognitive, and behavioral neuroscience. The PSNI facilitates research and training excellence across questions related to the health and physiological flourishing of the brain, and brings together our diverse community of neuroscientists across all campuses to share ideas and opportunities.

PSNI strives to facilitate impactful and transformational science across traditional disciplinary boundaries. We aim to expand research excellence both within and beyond the brain.

Quick facts about the Penn State Neuroscience Institute

University Park has over 100 faculty working in areas of neuroscience across four key pillars: neuroecology and evolutionary neuroscience, healthy aging and neurodegeneration, mental health, addiction, and brain development, & neural engineering, biodevices, and AI applications
PSNI labs host over 350 undergraduate scientists, representing over 30 majors, for immersive research experiences
PSNI faculty are funded from over a dozen NIH Institutes, NSF, USDA, and prestigious foundations including The McKnight Foundation, The Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, and the W. M. Keck Foundation

Get to know some of PSNI's faculty

Faculty Spotlight
Meet Santhosh Girirajan, Department Head and T. Ming Chu Professor of Genomics in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Faculty Spotlight
Meet Melissa Rolls, Paul Berg Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Chair of the Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Biosciences graduate program

Faculty Spotlight
Meet Laura Cabrera, Huck Early Career Chair in Neuroethics, associate professor of engineering science and mechanics

Neuroscience is a big, wide-open field, but that’s what makes it so exciting. We don’t even know all the questions that we have yet to answer. But I think Penn State is in a strong position to solve some of the big questions.

Nikki Crowley
Director, Penn State Neuroscience Institute at University Park