Training Program in Substance Use Disorders

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SUMMARY The Training Program in Substance Use Disorders at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) will offer late-stage predoctoral (PhD) students and early-stage postdoctoral fellows an integrated program of training in substance use disorders (SUDs) research that leverages the exceptional expertise in cellular, molecular and behavioral neuroscience, translational neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry, genomic science and pharmacological sciences at ISMMS. The overarching goal of the program is to provide rigorous, broad- based, individualized, and multidisciplinary training with enhanced opportunities for mentoring, collaboration, and career development designed to prepare the next generation of independent investigators in SUDs research. At the heart of this new Training Program will be a superb training faculty representing remarkable diversity in basic and clinically relevant topics; from synaptic plasticity and chromatin remodeling; cognitive, social, and emotional disorders; disorders of mood, motivation, and anxiety; addiction; human neuropsychology; and cognitive neuroscience – all relevant to SUDs. The Training Program comprises inter- related components: academic coursework, laboratory training, non-curricular training activities (seminars, retreats, etc.), testing/evaluation, teaching opportunities, mentoring, and career development activities. The diverse research environment at ISMMS will provide for laboratory opportunities in core areas of strength, including in translational neuroscience, computational neuroscience, neuropsychiatric genomics, neuroimaging, epigenetics, and synaptic and behavioral plasticity, and the study of diverse model systems. The Training Program includes more than a dozen initiatives that have been newly created or adapted from existing programs to support training in SUDs, which emphasize multidisciplinary collaborations, and the promotion of exceptional rigor and creativity. Pre- and post-doctoral trainees will participate in required and optional training activities to ensure strong grounding in basic neuroscience and opportunities to learn from and with peers and faculty from across ISMMS, including those in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the medical school, interdisciplinary Centers and Institutes, and the Friedman Brain Institute. Creating a structured culture of mentoring across the career continuum of participants is a hallmark feature of the Training Program. Formal and informal advising and mentoring will be integrated into training across roles and levels, including mentoring opportunities for training faculty and sponsors (preceptors). Integrating predoctoral and postdoctoral training through formal mechanisms will provide greater continuity in the overall training experience, enhanced opportunities for collaboration among trainees interested in pursuing careers in SUDs research, and will benefit the neuroscience research effort at ISMMS. The Training Program in Substance Use Disorders will prepare the most promising trainees for productive, independent careers in SUD research at all levels – from preclinical genetics, cellular and molecular mechanisms of the disorders, to clinical research and interventions.