Natural Science at St. Catharine’s College

University of Cambridge, St. Catharine's College

Dr. Jeff Dalley

Uptake of the selective high affinity dopamine D2/3 receptor antagonist [18F] fallypride in the human brain, measured by positron emission tomography

(from Dr. Dalley's research work, performed in collaboration with Dr. Tim Fryer and Dr. Franklin Aigbirhio from the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, Cambridge)

Neuroscience at St. Catharine’s

Prof. Jeff Dalley

Fellow and Director of Studies in Neurobiology and Psychology, e-mail jwd20@cam.ac.uk

Neuroscience involves the study of nerves, nerve networks, sensory systems and the brain, including some aspects of behaviour and psychology. Neuroscientists are often interested in medical implications of their work, perhaps striving to understand the scientific basis of diseases such as Parkinson's or multiple sclerosis. Others are interested in broader questions of how things work and the nature of the mind and cognition, areas that cross-over with Experimental Psychology. Many neuroscientists in research actually started out as physicists, mathematicians and engineers, because much of how nerves and brains work is based upon principles more familiar to physical than to biological scientists.

Neuro teaching at St. Catharine's

In Cambridge, each Natural Science student gets an hour’s supervision per subject per week in the first and second years, arranged by their College (third year supervisions are always organised by the Departments). The personal attention offered in these supervisions, which are typically in groups of one supervisor and three students, represents one of the most important benefits of Cambridge teaching which is available at few other institutions. Supervisions are also the primary way in which the Colleges differ in terms of the teaching offered to their students, since lectures, practicals and exams are organised on a Departmental basis for all Colleges but supervisions are organised separately.

Our College is particularly strong in Natural Sciences: it has excellent library facilities, some dedicated Fellows in biological subjects, and the student-run John Ray Society, our Natural Science society named after our famous 17^th century alumnus, which runs lectures and other events within St. Catharine's. Supervisions at St. Catharine's are usually organised in groups of 2-3 students. Our students are encouraged to extend their knowledge beyond the confines of the course, drawing upon what they have learnt from their other subjects.

This academic year (2018-9), eleven natural scientists from St. Catharine’s, representing most of our first-year biologists, read Physiology of Organisms, the first-year course which includes neuroscience. Five students read 1B Physiology, four read 1B Neurobiology and three of our third-years are taking part 2 PDN. Given that there are so many options available to Natural Scientists, St. Catharine’s has a high proportion of physiologists and neurobiologists.

First-year students reading Physiology of Organisms at St. Catharine’s are mostly supervised by Dr. Matt Mason: Matt is the University Physiologist, responsible for much of the physiology teaching in Cambridge. He gives the introductory neuroscience lecture component of that course and runs all of the neuro-based practical classes, as well as many of the others. Please see our Physiology at St. Catharine's page for more information.

Our second-year neurobiologists are taught by myself, Prof. Jeff Dalley. I am the Rosalie Canney Lecturer in Psychology and Medicine, holding a joint appointment with the Departments of Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry. As a regular examiner in the NST 1B Neurobiology course, I am ideally placed to supervise our neuro students! My research interests are in behavioural and cognitive neuroscience, neurobiological substrates of individual differences in behaviour, brain mechanisms of drug abuse, vulnerability and addiction. An example of my research is shown on the left.

Third year supervisions are always organized on a Departmental rather than a College basis, and College academic duties in principle end there. However, at St. Catharine's we hold weekly physiology coffee meetings where we discuss physiological issues, from critically analyzing the latest research through to how best to put across your ideas in writing or in person.

Interested in dissecting a brain? Want lab experience examining the effects of drug addition through functional magnetic resonance imaging? Need advice about which PhD position to go for? We'll go the extra mile to help St. Cats students to explore their interests. As well as providing the best possible preparation for the University exams, we believe that it is vital that our students should develop a deeper understanding of how organisms work and how scientific research is actually conducted, and we work hard to provide the best academic and social environment in which to develop your scientific career.

...and beyond

The results of our recent graduates in neuroscience over the last ten years are consistently excellent, but grades are not everything - our students learn more than just how to pass exams, developing a real understanding and interest in the subject. Because of this, many of them continue with science in their subsequent careers. Our Natural Science graduates often continue to read for PhD degrees or start courses in postgraduate medicine, but some leave science and go to work in the City or elsewhere.We keep in touch with our former students regularly, of course, and they are frequently invited back for dinners or other events.

Click here for a list of some of our more famous natural scientists, many of whom will have studied neurobiology at some point! We keep in touch with our former students regularly, of course, and they frequently come back for dinners or other events.

For more information

If you are interested in applying to read Natural Sciences at St. Catharine’s, please see our College admissions webpage. If you are specifically interested in Neuroscience, then feel free to e-mail me, jwd20@hermes.cam.ac.uk, with any questions that you might have. Good luck!

Appendix: Course Structure

Natural Sciences at Cambridge covers all sciences, including biology, chemistry and physics. It aims to give all students a broad base of several core scientific disciplines, from which the students increasingly specialise over the three to four years of their degree course. Neuroscience courses are also taken within the Medical & Veterinary Sciences Tripos (MVST), but this page refers specifically to the Natural Science Tripos (NST) neuro courses. Within NST, Neuroscience is taught within the following courses and modules, which may be chosen by undergraduates in the first, second and third years:

First year: NST 1A Physiology of Organisms

Second year: NST 1B Neurobiology

Third year: NST part 2 Physiology, Development & Neuroscience (PDN)or NST part 2 Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour (PNB)  

(Experimental Psychology also offers some neuroscience-related courses: see the Experimental Psychology teaching pages for more details).

The first year Physiology of Organisms course is a general physiology course, which contains some neuroscience lectures and practicals. It must be combined with two other sciences plus a maths course. For example, many "biological" students at St. Catharine’s take Physiology of Organisms together with Biology of Cells, Chemistry and Mathematical Biology, although a dedicated neuroscientist might be interested in taking physics as one of their options. You must take three second year courses (maths is optional), so students interested in neuroscience might take Neurobiology, Experimental Psychology and Physiology, for example. You must choose just one third year course, but there are many module options within each one. Please follow this link to the PDN teaching pages for more information about these courses.