Integrated Clinical Neuroscience Training for Translational Research

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The Integrated Clinical Neuroscience (ICN) Training Program, operating within the Clinical Psychology and interdisciplinary Neuroscience programs at Florida State University for the past 9 years, seeks to train the next generation of investigators to become leaders in translational research and make major advances in several areas of psychopathology characterized by dysregulated behaviors including eating disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, suicidality, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders. These problems are associated with significant psychological and medical morbidity, elevated mortality, and high economic burden. This underscores the need for research that translates the neural mechanisms underlying normal and abnormal behavior in animals into clinical studies of the causes and treatment of mental disorders. However, segregation of doctoral training in Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience, with separate courses, lab experiences, and exposure to outside speakers, impedes new scientists’ preparation to undertake translational approaches in their own research. The ICN Training Program was designed to break down these barriers. Here, we seek continued funding to provide integrated instruction, research experience, and mentorship to 4 predoctoral ICN trainees earning PhDs in Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience through 1) cross-area courses, 2) cross-area lab rotations, 3) a Special Speaker Series in which trainees present their research to invited scholars conducting translational science, and these scholars present their work to trainees, our participating Departments, and the community, 4) presentation of research at conferences and in published papers, and 5) instruction in grant writing, data science, and cross-area instruction in the responsible conduct of research. Predoctoral trainees apply for the ICN Training Program by describing research they plan to conduct in collaboration with their primary advisor and cross-area mentor, classes they will complete, and how this cross-area exposure will contribute to their career development as translational scientists. Students are typically appointed for two years beginning in their 3rd to 4th year to ensure selection of the most promising trainees who have completed basic program requirements and established research interests that can be extended by a cross-area lab rotation. Our training model has supported a total of 19 trainees. Among the 13 ICN trainees who have completed the Ph.D., 92% have continued in research careers (with 4 currently in tenure-track positions) and 77% have received highly competitive fellowships and independent research grants. Training faculty, selected for their cross-area connections in research addressing dysregulated behaviors, continue to excel in securing grant funding and training students for research careers with strong publication records. Continuation of the ICN Training Grant for an additional 5 years will build upon our accomplishments and ensure that a third cohort of Ph.D. students is ideally positioned to initiate cutting-edge translational research to address mental disorders characterized by dysregulated behaviors.