Undergraduate Neuroscience Major Reaches 500 Concurrent Declared Students
May 11, 2026
The Undergraduate Neuroscience Major achieved a major milestone today, reaching and surpassing 500 concurrently declared students for the first time in its 10-year history. Pioneered in 2015 with only 37 declared majors, the Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience has grown steadily each year thanks to the hard work and dedication of our faculty and staff, and the undimmable passion and curiosity of our incredible students. The Department would especially like to thank and congratulate:
- Our Founding Faculty Director Dr. Catherine Woolley, who served in the position until 2021,
- Our Director of Undergraduate Studies Dr. Valerie Kilman, who has led the Major since its inception,
- Dr. Tiffany Schmidt, who took on the mantle of Faculty Director from Dr. Woolley in 2021 and served until 2024,
- Dr. Andrew Miri, our current Faculty Director since 2024,
- Our team of dedicated Teaching Faculty:
- Dr. Justin Brown, who served as an Advisor for the Major from 2018 to 2024,
- Dr. Wei-Chun Wang, who currently shares with Dr. Kilman the tremendous responsibility of advising all of our Majors,
- Dr. Yen-Chyi Liu, who has taught more courses in his very first year than any other Neuroscience professor has taught in any single year to date,
- Chad Gilliland, who helped to set up the Major and build our Teaching Lab in 2015 as a Program Assistant, and is now serving as a Senior Research Administrator at Medical Social Sciences in Feinberg,
- And last but never least, our amazing Undergraduate Program Assistant Terri Bartosiak, who has administered the entire Major single-handedly for eight years.
And of course, to our wonderful students: thank you for your enthusiasm, your determination, and your joy, which bring so much meaning to everything we do here. Congratulations!