April 10 marks a new date on the Boise State calendar: Neuroscience Day.
The event, organized by Y. Hwan Kim, a professor in the School of Allied Health Sciences and director of Boise State’s Neuroscience Program, and colleagues will feature a lineup of global heavy hitters across neuroscience disciplines. Faculty from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and universities in Portugal, Brazil, Poland and Australia will discuss their neuroscience research on Alzheimer’s disease, Fibromyalgia, mental health, aging, respiratory muscles and more.
For sticklers, it’s Neuroscience Day 2025, and organizers hope it’s the first of many such annual events to come.
The afternoon program is meant to showcase the breadth of the field, give students a sampling of the exciting research and careers in neuroscience and gather together professionals from the field scattered across the region’s hospitals, clinics and other local universities and high schools, Kim said.
Neuroscience at Boise State – a first for Idaho
Launched last year, after the state approved a new curriculum dedicated to the discipline, Neuroscience at Boise State currently consists of a bachelor’s degree, appropriate for students pursuing careers in medicine, rehabilitation and clinical and basic research.
Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system, a rapidly growing field influencing numerous industries, and graduates with neuroscience degrees are highly sought after. Graduates find positions across health care, the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, government agencies and education.
The degree and the program weave in multiple departments and programs, including but not limited to kinesiology, biology, psychology and bioengineering, from across both the college and the campus, involving faculty and students in an interdisciplinary experience. And as Neuroscience Day will amply illustrate, there is an international element, connecting Boise State and the community with the global network of researchers and experts in the field.
Going forward, Kim envisions a master’s degree and a PhD option. Because big plans call for ample space, the university’s new science building, expected to open in about four years, is a welcome development. Already in place is a welcoming community that Kim hopes to build on and build out.
“A lot of people are showing their interest,” he said. “There is high demand and a high level of interest in collaboration, in this community in general.
“We’re here, we’re up and running and we’re research-focused. We want to let them know we’ll have an annual event, so the community can interact and build collaborations.”