Download the 2023 ACAN Program (please note this is subject to change)
The Australasian Course in Advanced Neuroscience (ACAN) is an intensive three-week course that teaches both advanced theory and hands-on-practice of latest neuroscience techniques. The 2023 edition will be held at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and the University of Melbourne. The course is designed to give students the skills to design and implement state-of-the-art experimental techniques in neuroscience.
Our Australasian and International faculty will guide each participant in the latest research methods in cellular and systems neuroscience. The course will be structured into three weeks with each supporting distinct but interrelated themes.
- Week 1 (Fundamentals of electrophysiology: the excitable cell and synaptic transmission) will be headed by Chris Reid, Karl Iremonger and Ian Forster and teach single-cell electrophysiology.
- Week 2 (Cortical Processing and Neuronal Networks) will be headed by Lucy Palmer and focus on in vitro and in vivo imaging techniques.
- Week 3 (Brain Systems and Behaviour) will be headed by Jay Bertran-Gonzalez and focus on neuromodulatory systems and behavioural neuroscience.
During the course, each participant will become proficient in patch-clamp recording, calcium imaging, optogenetics, pharmacogenetics and behavioural manipulation, amongst other techniques. Thanks to the generous support of The Finkel Foundation, ACAN 2023 will feature a dedicated 2-photon imaging / electrophysiology setup that will complement an array of in vitro and in vivo recording techniques. The 2023 course will also feature neural Imaging with miniaturized microscopes (or 'minscopes') with Daniel Aharoni travelling from the US to talk about and demonstrate this exciting technique. The course will also take advantage of the infrastructure of the Florey and University of Melbourne to provide a unique interactive experience.