The Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neurosciences (IIN-ELS), of the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD), opened this Monday (15) the registration period for the selection of the master's degree in neuroengineering – the first and only in Brazil in this area.

The notice is available on the ISD website (Click here to access) and provides a total of 10 vacancies, with classes starting on August 3rd. 

Registration for the selection process continues until July 5th. The announcement of those approved is scheduled for the 17th of the same month.

Does Covid-19 change anything?

There are no expected changes to the calendar due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But, according to Fabrício Brasil – coordinator of the master's program – classes can start virtually, if necessary.

Possibilities such as video conference interviews with pre-selected candidates and online enrollment – which were already foreseen in previous selections – are also considered in this notice and have reinforced importance in the context of the pandemic, he says.

As a prevention of Covid-19, since March, master's classes and other ISD activities have been carried out remotely.

But is there anything new in the selection?

A change in the current master's selection is that for the first time candidates will have to indicate, when registering, which areas they have the most affinity with.

The registration form presents six projects developed at the Institute and asks which one(s) the potential student would like to have the application directed to. 

The list details the objectives of each project, the researchers leading them and the number of vacancies available.

Among the topics researched are “Development of a functional electrical stimulation system for segmental positioning”; “Animal experimentation related to cognition, more specifically, learning and memory”; “Morphometric/stereological analysis of the temporal cortex of elderly people”; “Signal processing and machine learning”; “Cognition – Mechanisms of formation, expression and modification of memories” and “Human-machine and brain-machine interface with rodents, marmosets, and humans”.

The idea, according to Fabrício Brasil, is to identify affinities from the beginning to optimize the development of research when the student is in the field.

Who can do a master's degree in neuroengineering?

The target audience for the selection process is candidates with undergraduate degrees in the health, engineering or biological fields. 

The program has already received graduates from courses such as biomedical engineering, computer engineering, medicine, biological sciences, electrical engineering, computer science, nursing, biotechnology, civil engineering, control and automation engineering, chemical engineering, physiotherapy, psychology, biomedicine and speech therapy . Students come from different institutions and regions in Brazil.

Of the 10 vacancies foreseen in this selection, one is reserved for professors and employees of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) and two are destined for graduates of the Multiprofessional Residency in Health Care for People with Disabilities, from ISD. 

About the course

The IIN-ELS/ISD master's degree in neuroengineering is offered free of charge, lasts up to two years and is the first in Brazil recommended by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES).

Since August 2013, when it started, the program has received 393 registrations in the selection and registered 104 entrants. 

Classes and research are carried out at the IIN-ELS headquarters, in Macaíba (RN), a municipality located about 14 kilometers from the capital, Natal.

The Institute offers students free daily transportation between the two municipalities.

About IIN-ELS and the program

The Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neurosciences (IIN-ELS) has been in operation since 2006 and develops teaching, research and extension activities in neurosciences and neuroengineering – two areas considered strategic for Brazil and the world.

The Institute's postgraduate program in Neuroengineering offers two lines of research (Brain-Machine Interface and Neuromodulation) and opens perspectives of professional activity linked to experimental, computational, theoretical, clinical and applied research, at molecular, cellular and systems levels. 

There is room for the development of research and technologies in areas such as brain-machine interface, neuromodulation, computational neuroscience and signal processing, rehabilitation, brain-brain interface, prosthetics and orthoses, biocompatibility, neurodegenerative diseases, microcephaly, psychiatric diseases and cognition, among others.

Neuroengineering

Neuroengineering is an interdisciplinary area of research that integrates neuroscience and engineering methods to study the functioning of the nervous system and develop solutions to limitations and dysfunctions associated with the nervous system. 

The knowledge generated in the area enables the development of technologies and applications ranging from neuroprostheses to the improvement of neuromodulation techniques with therapeutic potential. The works have behavioral, electrophysiological, histological and immunohistochemical approaches, combined with quantitative analysis methods.

The expectation is that the research developed will result in gains for society, such as the launch of cheaper prostheses for amputees, new forms of less invasive and lower-cost therapy for Parkinson's patients and the use of new technologies for the rehabilitation of paraplegic and quadriplegics.