The Australasian Course in Advanced Neuroscience (ACAN) is an intensive neuroscience course targeted at early to mid-career researchers with the aim of providing substantial theoretical and solid practical insight into modern neuroscience techniques.
The course runs yearly for 3 consecutive weeks and brings a small group of elite students (~12 per year) together with Australasian and international faculty (over 50 each year) under the same roof. ACAN has a fundamentally practical focus with emphasis on one-on-one tuition, making it unique and setting it apart from the other few neuroscience courses existing in North America and Europe.
Over its nearly 20-year history, the course has been run in various Australiasian settings, including the Moreton Research Station in North Stradbroke Island (Queensland), the Florey Neuroscience Institute at the University of Melbourne (Victoria) and now the Schools of Psychology and Biomedical Sciences in UNSW Sydney (New South Wales).
In its current form, the course provides an integrative program based on interrelated themes that span most disciplines and techniques in modern neuroscience:
- Neurons and Networks
- Networks and Systems
- Systems and Behaviour
Thanks to the generous support from The Finkel Foundation and many institutions and partners across Australia, New Zealand and overseas, ACAN prides itself on imparting a broad program that counts with cutting edge technology in neuroscience, including patch-clamp, optogenetics, 2-photon imaging, in vivo fibre photometry, in utero electroporation and behavioural conditioning.
See the program from the most recent ACAN Course: