Graduate Training in Integrative Physiology

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Project Summary This is a resubmission of a T32 application requesting funding for a new Graduate Training in Integrative Physiology training program for 4 predoctoral fellows/year. Training of the predoctoral fellows will be carried out by participating faculty with proven track records of cross-disciplinary research on a variety of health issues. The overall goal of the proposed program is to provide broad-based training in modern research concepts required to study quantitatively the nature of physiological processes in both healthy and disease states, which is necessary to drive discovery of new therapeutic strategies for treating the underlying causes of diseases affecting multiple organs and systems. The primary objectives are to: 1) provide a comprehensive, quantitative training program for early stage trainees in physiology with a particular emphasis on cardiovascular, aging, neurophysiology, and muscle biology research; and 2) promote interdisciplinary learning teams involving basic scientists, clinicians and trainees to foster rigorous innovative translational science. Predoctoral fellows will be trained in the practical issues involved in the design and conduct of basic and translational research to enhance their future ability to make therapeutic discoveries for diseases of broad etiology as independent investigators. To accomplish this, the predoctoral fellows will engage in cutting-edge, quantitative, physiologically-based research. In addition to specialized didactic coursework, they will participate in a comprehensive Experimental Design Workshop and attend weekly seminars and grand rounds presentations focused on cardiovascular, aging-related, neurological, or musculoskeletal diseases. Although most of the trainees are anticipated to pursue careers in laboratory-based discovery research, they will also receive training in conveying knowledge to other scientists through grant-writing and communications skills workshops. The combination of these training avenues will provide skills to disseminate their knowledge and provide them with an understanding of how to design and conduct research in a manner that will enable the translation of promising therapies into the clinic.