Neuroscience Institute

Wake Forest students participate in Project Pumpkin, a volunteer service project that brings children from local schools on campus for Halloween, on Hearn Plaza on Thursday, October 28, 2010. Greg Alberto ('11) gives anatomy lessons about the human brain.

Learn about Neuroscience!

From the molecular to the philosophical – explore how the brain develops, functions, and learns.

Neuroscience is an exciting and rapidly growing interdisciplinary field encompassing the study of the nervous system and its role in regulating behavior. Students will examine the structure of the brain through hands-on dissection, learn how drugs affect the brain and how sensory systems detect stimuli in the environment, visit active neuroscience labs, and conduct exciting neuroscience experiments.

At a Glance


**The application for summer 2024 will open on Nov. 1. Students may wait to apply or register for the Online Immersion Program – study online with Wake Forest anywhere, anytime, at your own pace.

2024 Dates: TBA

Program Length: Sunday – Friday

Who Can Apply?: Current 9th – 12th grade students

Tuition: $3,000

Location: Winston-Salem, NC – Wake Forest University Campus

*Courses carry no secondary school or college credit. Upon completion of the program, an official Wake Forest University Certificate of Completion will be awarded to all Neuroscience Institute participants.


What You’ll Experience

Topics Covered:

  • Neuroanatomy
  • Neurobiology
  • Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Neuropharmacology
  • Electrophysiology

Hands-On Experiences:

  • Explore neuroanatomy through the dissection of a sheep brain
  • Observe electrophysiological experiments 
  • Research and present neuroscience poster project
  • Visit neuroscience labs, fMRI, and MEG
  • Field trip to the Nonhuman Primates & Large Animal Research Center

*Hands-on experiences are subject to change.


Neuroscience Institute Cost

$3,000

Wake Forest biology professor Wayne Silver teaches his neurology lab in Winston Hall on Wednesday, September 28, 2011.

A Day in the Life

  • 8:00 am – Morning Meeting and Breakfast
  • 9:00 am – Welcome and Program Introduction
  • 9:30 am – Visit the Neuron Observatory
  • 10:00 am – Visit to the Neurophysiology Lab
  • 12:00 pm – Lunch
  • 1:00 pm – Neuroanatomy with Human Brain
  • 3:30 pm – Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
  • 4:30 pm – Neuroimaging Experiments
  • 5:00 pm – Debrief for the Next Day
  • 5:30 pm – Dinner
  • 6:30 pm – Evening Activities
  • 7:30 pm – Free Time
  • 9:00 pm – Prepare for Bed
  • 10:00 pm – Lights Out

* The “A Day in the Life” sample schedule is subject to change. 


Meet Your Academic Leader

Dr. Anthony Sali

Academic Leader, Neuroscience Institute

Anthony Sali earned his Ph.D. in Psychological and Brain Sciences from the Johns Hopkins University in 2015. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University. Anthony joined the faculty of the psychology department at Wake Forest University as an assistant professor in the fall of 2018. As a cognitive neuroscientist, Dr. Sali uses a combination of studies of human behavior, eye tracking, human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate the neural mechanisms and behavioral consequences of attentional control. In particular, researchers in the Sali Lab are focused on understanding how individuals harness learned expectations to anticipate future demands and adapt the flexibility of goal-directed attention. Dr. Sali’s research has implications for understanding healthy cognitive abilities as well as disorders of control such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, drug abuse, and anxiety.