About Us

The Cornell Department of Neurobiology and Behavior (NBB), established in 1964, was one of the founding units of the Division of Biological Sciences at Cornell and one of the first programs in the United States to merge neurobiology with the study of animal behavior, making it a pioneering interdisciplinary initiative. As a result, Cornell is recognized as a key birthplace of Neuroethology, the field that studies behavior and neurobiology in a comparative and evolutionary context. The combination of neurobiology and behavior was a bold and innovative idea at the time, driven by the belief that the interface between these disciplines held tremendous research and intellectual potential. This vision has since been realized and emulated by other institutions.

Nationally, the program is renowned for its groundbreaking research in several areas: sensory detection and central nervous system coding of animal communication signals; sensory guidance and orientation through these cues; the generation of motor patterns that govern both simple behaviors like feeding and more complex ones like communication, as well as their modification by neuromodulators and hormones.

Looking ahead, the department is committed to expanding its interdisciplinary focus to encompass emerging areas of study, such as genome biology and computational neuroscience, ensuring the continued growth and leadership of NBB for many decades to come.

Support NBB: Graduate Student Research Fund

Alumni and Faculty have teamed up to establish an endowment that will have a lasting impact on graduate student research in Neurobiology and Behavior. This endowment generates funds devoted exclusively to supporting our in-house program of Research Grants for graduate students, and we need your help to grow it. 

Make a tax-deductible donation today!