Training Program in Translational Vision Sciences

项目摘要/摘要 将基础视力研究转化为临床研究取得了惊人的进展，但我们还有很长的路要走 参与开发治疗失明视力疾病的治疗方法和潜在的治疗方法。方法上的进步， 例如，病毒载体、遗传方法、单细胞转录、成像方式、光遗传学和干细胞 基于细胞的方法，改变了我们理解健康和疾病中视觉系统的能力。这个 明尼苏达大学翻译视觉科学培训项目的主要目的是准备 作为独立科学家的博士前实习生，具有出色的基础科学知识，以及 重要的是，提供与临床问题和患有危及视力的疾病的真实患者的联系。18岁的 培训教师是一群资金充足、富有成效的视觉科学家，他们致力于培训下一代 一代视觉科学家。这18人中有10人得到了国家眼科研究所的资助，但都是教官 拥有资金雄厚的实验室和良好的出版记录。主要研究领域包括REAL- 时间成像、人类和动物模型中的视觉处理、血管生物学和发育。这些焦点 这些领域通常伴随着一个强烈的翻译目标，专注于开发新的战略来改进 有严重视力障碍的人的视力。我们正在申请资金支持五名博士后 已经进入其中一名视觉科学家导师的实验室的候选人。博士前实习生 将来自四个研究生课程之一：“神经科学”、“分子、细胞、发育生物学和 医学院或研究生课程中的“遗传学”，或“生物化学、分子生物学和生物物理学” 文理学院心理学专业。随着对翻译视觉科学的关注，我们有很大的 加强基础科学家和眼科临床教员之间的合作 和视觉神经科学(DOVN)。翻译视觉研究训练的几个新要素 课程包括为学员设计的新课程，视觉科学中的批判性和翻译推理， 由DOVN的培训教师和临床教师共同授课。所有受训人员必须出席并提交他们的 在我们一年一度的春季研讨会上进行的研究，全国知名和内部的视觉科学专家 与我们的实习生和教职员工一起展示他们的最新研究成果，并参与以下几个项目之一 与视觉相关的杂志俱乐部。项目主任和执行委员会挑选和评估受训人员 这个节目。该项目的负责人是Linda McLoon博士和Harald Junge博士，两人都在DOVN。我们有 建立了项目主任过渡计划，麦克隆博士和容格博士在前两个阶段分享了这一职位 荣格博士将在三到五年内接任首席研究员一职。当我们移动的时候 对于我们的基础和临床培训的教职员工之间越来越多的合作研究，培训 我们将最大限度地提高我们的能力，为视觉科学家提供所需的多学科教育 实现NEI的“大胆目标”--专注于预防、治疗和康复失明眼病。

Project Summary/Abstract Translating basic vision research to the clinic progresses at an astounding rate, but we still have a long way to go in developing treatments and potential cures for blinding vision diseases. The advancements in methods, e.g., viral vectors, genetic approaches, single cell transcriptomics, imaging modalities, optogenetics, and stem cell-based approaches, have changed our ability to understand the visual system in health and disease. The major aim of the University of Minnesota’s program in the Training in Translational Vision Sciences is to prepare predoctoral trainees for careers as independent scientists with excellent knowledge of basic science, and importantly, provide connections to clinical problems and real patients with vision-threatening disorders. The 18 training faculty are a well-funded, productive group of vision scientists with a commitment to training the next generation of vision scientists. Ten of these 18 have funding from the National Eye Institute, but all preceptors have well-funded laboratories and strong publication records. The major areas of research focus include real- time imaging, visual processing in human and animal models, vascular biology, and development. These focus areas are typically coupled with a strong translational objective focused on developing new strategies to improve vision in individuals with significant visual impairment. We are requesting funding to support five predoctoral candidates who have entered into the laboratories of one of the vision scientist preceptors. Predoctoral trainees will come from one of four graduate programs: “Neuroscience”, “Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology & Genetics”, or “Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics” in the medical school, or the Graduate Program in Psychology in the College of Liberal Arts. With the focus on translational vision science, we have greatly increased the collaborations between basic scientists and the clinical faculty in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences (DOVN). Several new key elements of the Translational Vision Research Training program include a newly designed course for trainees, Critical and Translational Reasoning in Visual Science, co-taught by the training faculty and the clinical faculty in the DOVN. All trainees must attend and present their research at our annual Spring Symposium, where nationally known and in-house experts in vision science present their most recent research along with our trainees and faculty as well as participate in one of several vision-related journal clubs. The Program Directors and Executive Committee select and evaluate trainees for this program. The program directors are Linda McLoon PhD and Harald Junge PhD, both in the DOVN. We have built in a Program Director transition plan, with Drs. McLoon and Junge sharing the position during the first two years of the program, and with Dr. Junge taking over as Principal Investigator in years three to five. As we move toward increasingly collaborative research between our basic and clinically trained faculty members, the training we provide will maximize our ability to prepare vision scientists with a multi-disciplinary education needed to meet the “audacious goals” of the NEI - focused on preventing, treating, and rehabilitating blinding eye disease.