Research and Thesis

Step 1:  Read over our advice on picking a great lab/mentor

• Guide to Choosing a Research Lab
• Another well-known guide (aimed at graduate students), but still relevant

Step 2: Search for a lab. The best method is to start your search on the web.  Here are some helpful links:

• On Campus Labs
  • Neuroscience within the Department of MCB (Biolabs)
  • Center for Brain Science (North West)
  • Cognitive Neuroscience in the Psych Department (William James)
  • SEAS (Comp Neuro, Robotics)
• Harvard Medical School Labs (Program in Neuroscience) in the Longwood area
• Mixed faculty listings
  • Harvard Brain Science Initiative
  • Harvard MBB (Note: MBB student can join any type of Neuro lab, not just ones listed here)
• Harvard affiliated hospital labs (note: these labs may or may not have ever worked with students in the past).
  • Brigham and Women’s
  • Beth Israel
  • Stanley Center at the Broad
  • Mass General Hospital:
    • Neurodegenerative Disease 
    • Martinos Imaging Center
      
    • BrainGate
    • Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery
  • Mass Eye and Ear
  • Children’s Hospital
  • Harvard Sleep Medicine
  • Medical School BBS Faculty
  • Psychiatry Neuroimaging Lab
  • McLean Psychiatric Hospital (slightly farther commute)

• Also check out Harvard’s Catalyst site, which allows you to search Harvard-affilited researchers by keywords.

This is not a comprehensive list. Students have found labs in the chem, scrb, heb, oeb, psychology, and engineering departments. Our only requirement is that the lab is studying cells or signals of the brain.

*In addition to these online resources, Dr. Kate Penner, the Undergraduate Research Advisor, is available to meet with students who are early in their lab search. Check out the resources on the Research Advising website.

Step 3:  Generate a list of labs and make contact.

We recommend that you identify anywhere from 3-10 labs that interest you. If you’d like help refining your list or would like input on the labs you have selected, Dr. Draft,  Dr. Magnotti, or Dr. Penikis will be happy to go over your list in a meeting.  You may also wish to talk to students in those labs.

When you are ready to contact a lab, you should send an email to the research director (also called lab head or “PI” – principal investigator).  You should first read these very helpful tips provided on the Life Sciences Research page that talk about how to find and approach labs.

It is typical for students to contact several labs at a time (and you may not hear back from each one).  If you don’t hear back after your first email, send another email a week later. PIs often miss the first email. Ideally a lab head will respond by inviting you to come by the lab for a meeting where you can discuss potential projects.  Typically, it’s ideal to meet with at least 2 different labs before making your decision.

Step 4:  Begin your research.

Once you settle on a lab, you can begin your research.  Some students choose to volunteer in the lab (anywhere from 5-10 hours per week).  Starting in your junior spring you can receive course credit for your lab work by enrolling in Neuro 91 (10-15 hours per week). You may instead apply to be paid by the Harvard College Research Program (which funds during term time as well as over the summer: check the funding deadlines).

Neuroscience Thesis Requirements

1. The research must provide mechanistic insight into how the brain (or nervous system) works. Data should involve measuring, manipulating, or modeling some structure or activity in the brain. Typically, this involves working directly with brain cells (e.g., network/cellular/molecular/genetics research on neurons or glia) or using non-invasive techniques in humans (e.g., fMRI, MRI, DTI, EEG, TMS, fNIRS, etc.)

2. The thesis must describe an original research experiment using STEM methods. You must analyze primary data rather than conducting a meta-analysis or literature review, though you do not have to collect the data yourself. (i.e., no literature reviews, clinical case studies, epidemiological studies, etc.).

3. You must work with a Harvard-affiliated principal investigator (PI) at the College, HMS, or one of the Harvard affiliated hospitals (e.g., MGH, Boston Children’s, McLean), or you must have a Harvard Faculty co-sponsor your thesis.

For Joint concentrators:

4. All joint concentrators must have a coherent, integrated thesis project that combines research in neuroscience and research in their joint field to address a single research question. Both the question and the lab must be determined and approved by the start of the 6th semester (typically junior spring).

If you are unsure whether your research project fits all of the criteria above, discuss it with your academic advisor ASAP.

Below are deadlines for potential thesis writers. Please complete the appropriate form depending on whether you are enrolled in an independent research course (Neuro 91 or 99) or not.
Note: Joint Concentrators must also turn in the Lab Info Sheet by the first day of classes of their 6th semester (typically junior spring).

Thesis Deadlines, Content, and Formatting – Important!

For information on deadlines and formatting your thesis, read the:

Thesis Guide 2025-26

Title page and honor code

Thesis Workshops

Tentative 2025-2026 Schedule

• Structuring the Thesis Introduction: October (live workshops)
• Scholarly Research Tips and Tools: November (live workshops)
• Statistics: December (asynchronous resources)
• Making Effective Figures: January (asynchronous resources)
• Storyboarding: February (live workshops)
• Giving a Scientific Talk: March (asynchronous resources)

College Resources

• ARC Thesis Tips
• Statistics Drop-In Consulting Service
• Citation Management Tools
• Writing Center Thesis Tutors

VIEW THESIS DATABASE

You can see and search for previous Neuroscience Theses using the Database above, or

in Hollis using the search terms: “Honors in Neuroscience” AND “Harvard College”

Congratulations to David Kang, the 2025 Dowling Prize winner!

Link to the article about David’s thesis.

We would also like to congratulate our 2025 Hoopes Prize winner Elliott Chin