<p>Hello ,
I'm a junior in high school searching for the right path for me to take in college. I am very interested in Biomedical Engineering and also Neurology. I think of having a background in those two and using the Neurology side as my main profession (probably opening my own practice or work in a hospital etc.) but I'd also like to use my BME background to work in prosthesis that connects with the brain etc. Is this a realistic thing to do? The fact that I see minimal info online makes me wonder if it is or not. if it is, what route would you recommend? like schools majors pr anything. Thanks for any input.</p>
<p>It’s much too soon to be thinking about a medical specialty. You’re at least 8 years away for needing to make that decision. Worry about getting into college first.</p>
<p>Brain prostheses are a interesting field. There are several specialized graduate programs at schools like MIT, Pitt, Georgia Tech. What you need to look for are programs that do neural engineering. </p>
<p>D2 was originally interested in doing this kind of work. She majored in biological neuroscience and mathematics and is currently working with a BME/neuro-psychiatry research group developing new brain imaging technologies. One her classmates (brain/cognitive science & math major/CS minor) is in grad school in neural engineering–and is working brain prosthestics. </p>
<p>You really don’t need a MD to work in brain prosthestics. You do need a PhD–in BME, EE, Cog Sci/Neuroscience, or computer science. The people who develop, fit and monitor neural prosthetics are either techs (usually with a MS Engineering degree) or PhD researchers. </p>
<p>IMO, a MD would be waste of your time if you principally want to work with brain prosthetics. As a practicing neurologist you really will not have the time to do much besides work in your practice. (Doctors work very long hours–think 50+ hours/week.) As an MD, you’ll also lack the specialized knowledge (think PhD level) needed to work in this area.</p>
<p>Appropriate undergrad majors for people interested in neural engineering include: comp sci (there’s a ton of code-writing involved), mathematics, biological neuroscience, cognitive science, BME, or EE.</p>