UofSC (www.sc.edu) is comprised of the state's flagship university in Columbia (founded in 1801 and currently one of the top 50 "Best Colleges" according to U.S. News and World Report). The Carnegie Foundation has designated the campus as one of the 73 public academic institutions with “very high research activity”. The Department of Biological Sciences is a multidisciplinary unit of approximately 1,600 undergraduate students, 50 graduate students, and 35 tenure-line faculty representing a broad range of research areas (www.biol.sc.edu).  UofSC has a highly interactive neuroscience research community that encourages and precipitates collaborations.