Bill Rochlin

Principal Investigator (PI) of the Loyola Program for Neuroscience and Society

Bio

Bill Rochlin oversees all aspects of the Loyola Program for Neuroscience and Society including the creation and management of the after-school program, the Summer Ethos program and the workshops for middle school students. He manages the recruitment and retainment of participants, budget and communications. He ensures all stakeholders within Loyola University Chicago and the Dana Foundation are kept abreast of progress.  Rochlin is an associate professor of development at neurobiology Loyola University Chicago and the director of molecular/cellular neuroscience at the university. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University and Washington University. He holds a doctorate in neurobiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor’s in mathematics from Northwestern University. In addition to maintaining an active research agenda and teaching a variety of biology and neuroscience courses to undergraduates and graduate students, Rochlin is the president of the Chicago Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience and the co-director of Chicago Brain Bee, a day-long high school competition to advance interest in neuroscience.  

Why do you think it’s important for middle and high school students to learn about neuroscience?

Neuroscience is a great point of entry to STEM. Neuroscience, in part, sheds light on who we are and how we behave. Other areas of biology can't really do that. It’s important to learn about the kidney, heart and liver too, but the brain is where the seat of consciousness is. Our brain is the source of our motivations and our feelings. You don't have to know anything about science or biology to be curious about the brain. 

Part of the Loyola Program for Neuroscience and Society involves introducing students to careers in STEM that involve neuroscience. What are some of those jobs?

This is another area where neuroscience is distinct from other STEM areas. Because neuroscience deals with your mind and the nature of who you are, it has applications in every field. Like any STEM field, you can study neuroscience if you go into medicine, research or biotech. But people work in neurolaw, neurocrimonology, neuromarketing and even neuroarchitecture. The Dana Foundation has aseries of webinars about careers related to neuroscience.