NEUROETHOLOGY: NEUROBIOLOGY. EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOR

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DESCRIPTION (Provided by applicant): This application is a joint effort of the Departments of Psychology, Biology, Animal & Avian Sciences, and Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Graduate Program at the University of Maryland, College Park. We have, at the University of Maryland, an exceptional group of faculty with common research interests in neuroethology. The breadth of experimental approaches and species studied provides us with an opportunity to offer research training at the graduate and postdoctoral levels that is unmatched by any other institution. At the core of the research training program are 14 funded investigators with proven research and training records, most of whom are located in the same building. There is a strong history of scientific interaction among this group, and well-established research collaborations exist among faculty and laboratory groups. The proposed program will provide financial support for two predoctoral and two postdoctoral fellows each year. Our program in neuroethology emphasizes comparative neurobiology, evolution of nervous systems, and animal behavior. The major goal of our program is to produce scientists who have an understanding of brain-behavior relations and evolution in a variety of animal systems. We anticipate that the individuals trained in our program will conduct full-time research in comparative neurobiology and evolution in academic settings. At the very least, our training will ensure that they are able to put their work into the appropriate context and help add to our growing understanding in the fields of neurobiology, evolution and animal behavior. Our focus on comparative neurobiology, evolution and animal behavior will be achieved through formal courses, seminars, an annual symposium, an annual research forum, and most important, daily research activities and cross-laboratory interactions. With the exception of an ethics course, we do not require formal course work for postdoctoral trainees, but they are encouraged to audit appropriate courses. Predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees are recruited nationally. It is noteworthy that the core faculty of our training program have strong records of recruiting and retaining women and minorities, a high priority among the members of our research group.