NB&B offers a broad range of courses and research opportunities for undergraduate students, making it the most popular biology concentration at Cornell.
The associated graduate field of Neurobiology and Behavior encompasses all aspects of neuroscience and behavioral research on Cornell’s Ithaca campus. The graduate program's goal is to advance the understanding of neurobiology and behavior by training the next generation of scientists working at this exciting interface.
Academic Resources
Spotlight on BIONB2210/2220
Our teaching mission is to integrate research themes into two flagship courses, BioNB 2210 (Introduction to Behavior) and BioNB 2220 (Introduction to Neuroscience), and to explore them in greater depth in our upper level courses. In the videos below, NBB faculty instructors give an overview of the structure and significance of these two keystone courses:
Student Spotlight: Eliza Baird-Daniel '15
A recent Cornell graduate with a concentration in NBB, Eliza Baird-Daniel fondly remembers her time participating in research in the lab of Professor Jesse Goldberg:
"Dr. Goldberg, in particular, has been an incredible source of encouragement and guidance. I am so honored to have worked with someone who is such a remarkable teacher, and has allowed me the intellectual power and freedom to design experiments and explore scientific questions."
Profiles of Recent NBB Alums
NBB News
Neural implant smaller than salt grain wirelessly tracks brain 
Cornell researchers and collaborators have developed a neural implant so small that it can rest on a grain of salt, yet it can wirelessly transmit brain activity data in a living animal for more than a year.
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The ancient dialogue between brain and body
"The brain rarely works alone to control our behavior or physiology. From the rhythm of our heartbeat to the flutter of ‘butterflies’ in our stomach, it is in constant dialogue with our body," quoted by author Nilay Yapici, Associate Professor and Nancy and Peter Meinig Family Investigator and Fello...
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Packard Foundation Announces 20 New Science & Engineering Fellows For 2025
Azahara Oliva has been named one of the 20 new Science and Engineering Fellows for 2025. Read the entire story in Forbes.
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Zhao wins Simons Foundation Fellows-to-Faculty award
Zhao researches the neural mechanisms of parrot vocalizations in the Goldberg lab.
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Neuroscientist Azahara Oliva receives Packard Fellowship
The unrestricted fellowship funds enable Oliva and the 19 other fellows named this year to “test novel ideas and lead research that drives real-world impact.”
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Google DeepMind claims ‘historic’ AI breakthrough in problem solving
Frank Rosentblatt, former associate professor of neurobiology and behavior in the Division of Biological Sciences aided in the creation of one of the early breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence.
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Simons Foundation Announces Recipients of 2025 Fellows-to-Faculty Awards
Zhilei Zhao is a recipient of 2025 Fellows to Faculty award.
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Adaptive role(s) for floral humidity in squash plants
Some plant traits are so unusual that they compel physiological or even behavioral comparisons to animals.
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