Vision Science Training Program

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Project Summary/Abstract: The Vision Science Training Program (VSTP) has its home in the Stein Eye Institute (SEI), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine, and has been continuously active for more than 40 years. During this period the VSTP has trained nearly 140 scientists, a large portion who have gone on to distinguished careers in vision science. The Program covers the training of both predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows, and takes place in the laboratories of 17 faculty mentors. These vision scientists possess expertise in a wide range of disciplines and hold academic appointments in 11 departments at UCLA. Applicants for predoctoral fellowships first enter UCLA through one of several graduate programs, and they complete the curriculum associated with that program. After a year of rotations, the predoctoral candidates join the laboratory of a VSTP mentor. Applicants for postdoctoral fellowships apply directly to the VSTP lab of interest. All trainees that are members of VSTP labs and of the ophthalmology community at large are invited to participate in the curricular offerings of this program. These offerings are collectively designed to provide experimental and conceptual training in vision science, as many of the trainees have no prior experience in vision science. All fellows are required to take Fundamentals of Vision Research, a quarter-long course organized and taught by VSTP members. Additionally, fellows are integral members of the scientific environment at SEI through attendance and participation in a number of events, including the weekly Vision Science Seminar (Distinguished Lecturer) Series, the Vision Science Journal Club, and the Annual Vision Science Retreat held in Lake Arrowhead. A more recent focus of the VSTP is the stronger integration of basic and clinical science. Several offerings will help bridge the gap between these two research focuses by facilitating interactions between the scientists and the clinicians, including the Annual UCLA Stein Eye Clinical and Research Seminar and Translational Grand Rounds. Such experiences will help trainees to place their research into the context of visual health and disease. The VSTP has also instituted formal training in expository writing. An NRSA F31 or F32, and K99/R00 Pathway to Independence grant writing workshop is offered to all SEI trainees in VSTP labs to provide formal training in how to craft and submit an effective NIH research proposal. Given the interdisciplinary nature of vision research, the overall goal of the VSTP is to bring together faculty with a wide range of expertise (including anatomy, biochemistry, biophysics, chemistry, molecular biology, physiology, pharmacology, cell biology, and developmental biology) to provide interdisciplinary experimental and conceptual training to predoctoral and postdoctoral candidates seeking to develop careers in vision science. Funding of the VSTP will permit the SEI to carry on its critical mission of training the next generation of first-rate basic and clinical vision scientists.