March 03, 2025
Meghan O'Toole
Neuroscience achieves departmental status at Lake Forest College
The newest department on campus represents one of the top five majors for Lake Forest College students. Neuroscience, formerly under the wings of the Departments of Biology and Psychology, has been elevated to full department status.
The change meets a growing demand among current and prospective students eager to study neuroscience, an interdisciplinary STEM field that has witnessed a consistent rise in enrollment for the the past 20 years in both undergraduate and graduate education in the United States.
“Lake Forest neuroscience graduates will now have the distinction of coming from one of the only fully fledged neuroscience departments at a liberal arts college,” Chair of Neuroscience Blaine Moore said. “We now join the company of such distinguished institutions as Pomona College with our department designation. It’s something students can and should be very proud of.”
Many neuroscience graduates move on to distinguished graduate programs and medical school as well as a variety of career fields ranging from medicine, law, publishing, pharmaceuticals, and more.
Kristina Johnson '12, PhD, who double majored in neuroscience and psychology, was the first student to officially declare a neuroscience major when the program was first created. “The neuroscience major pushed me to not only excel academically, but also foster skills in advocacy, mentoring, and community,” she shared.“I felt more than prepared when I entered my doctorate program from a knowledge standpoint, but it really has been the other skills that have impacted me the most in my career.”
Johnson is now a Clinical Neuropsychologist at Northwestern Medicince and Instructor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
The major and minor programs were established in 2009. Since then, over the 250 neuroscience students have graduated from Lake Forest College. The number of Foresters majoring and minoring in neuroscience, as well as students outside the program taking classes, has grown steadily.
“To me, this change recognizes that neuroscience has matured over the past 15 years,” Associate Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience Matthew Kelley shared. “It's confirmation that we've been successful and are here to stay.”
Disque D. and Carol Gram Deane Professor of Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Neuroscience Shubhik DebBurman has been a longtime champion of the neuroscience program and was the founding chair of the program.
“From day one, students sought this major for its innovative and distinctive experiential curriculum that helps diverse students understand the biology underlying our mind and behavior in interdisciplinary ways integrating the humanities with the natural and social sciences,” DebBurman said. “The major has attracted many highly motivated student scholars to the college producing a vibrant research-rich collaborative academic culture where students help each other succeed. Our curriculum and community-based programming have received national notice for years.”
So far, within five years of graduation, over 70 percent of neuroscience alumni have pursued a postgraduate degree in a variety of fields.
“Our curriculum and community-based programming have received national notice for years.”
Krebs Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Tara Natarajan was also instrumental in facilitating the creation of the Department of Neuroscience.
Sydni Cole '12, MD, is a graduate of the neuroscience program and is currently an Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania. “The neuroscience program's individualized attention and mentoring propelled me toward my career as a neurologist,” she said. “The combination of a stellar faculty, comprehensive and thoughtful curriculum, abundant mentoring and research opportunities, and the added resources to support it all will prepare all its current and future students for careers in their chosen fields."
As a full department, neuroscience will have more independence and direct control over curriculum and administrative tools.
“The change to department, in a nutshell, means better control over our future. Importantly, it also gives us the opportunity to lead by example,” Moore said. “Perhaps we will inspire other successful neuroscience programs to pursue department status. I truly hope that our success can be a model for others in the neuroscience community.”
