Training Program in Chemosensory Neuroscience

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The last decade has seen spectacular growth in chemosensory research and increased recognition of the importance of this field. The taste and olfactory systems provide unique opportunities to address fundamental issues in neurobiology. Research in the chemical senses ranges from the molecular biology of olfactory and taste receptors to the identification and treatment of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction. Exciting discoveries are emerging from the application of new and rapidly changing technologies and many postdoctoral researchers are entering this field from other disciplines. These investigators bring the techniques and approaches of molecular biology, developmental neuroscience, biophysics, clinical medicine, and other disciplines to research issues in the chemical senses. More than ever before, it is important to maintain multidisciplinary training programs that can provide these scientists with the basic knowledge of this field, which will allow them to more clearly and precisely direct and interpret their studies. This application seeks to renew support for research training for four postdoctoral fellows. The training faculty have well-established research programs in the chemical senses and related areas of neuroscience, which are heavily funded by the NIH and other agencies. These faculty employ a wide spectrum of techniques, including molecular, electrophysiological, ultrastructural, neurochemical, pharmacological, immunological, and psychophysical, using preparations ranging from in vitro tissue culture and slices to behaving animals. In addition to laboratory research training, postdoctoral fellows participate in a biweekly Chemosensory Journal Club and regular seminar series by visiting neuroscientists in the chemical senses and other areas. All but one of the training faculty are housed in the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, where there is a major focus on chemosensory research. This group has an established record of training many outstanding researchers in the chemical senses and other areas of neuroscience. The eight postdoctoral fellows supported during the current funding period have been very productive; three have moved into tenure-track faculty positions. The training faculty are part of an interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, which is directed by the Chair of Anatomy & Neurobiology. The Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology is organized around newly equipped core laboratories, which provide the students and postdoctoral fellows with a high degree of interaction and sharing of equipment, techniques and ideas. It is the strength of this faculty, their wide range of experimental approaches, and their high degree of intellectual collaboration that provides a unique and exciting multidisciplinary training program for postdoctoral fellows in the chemical senses.