NEUROETHOLOGY: NEUROBIOLOGY. EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOR

本申请由马里兰大学心理学、生物学、动物和禽类科学系以及马里兰大学帕克分校神经科学和认知科学研究生项目共同完成。在马里兰大学，我们有一群杰出的教职员工，他们在神经行为学方面有着共同的研究兴趣。所研究的实验方法和物种的广度为我们提供了一个在研究生和博士后水平上提供研究培训的机会，这是任何其他机构都无法比拟的。研究培训计划的核心是14名受资助的调查人员，他们都有经过证明的研究和培训记录，其中大多数人都在同一座大楼里。这一群体之间的科学互动有着悠久的历史，教职员工和实验室群体之间存在着良好的研究合作关系。拟议的计划每年将为两名博士后和两名博士后研究员提供财政支持。我们的神经行为学课程强调比较神经生物学、神经系统的进化和动物行为。我们计划的主要目标是培养了解各种动物系统中大脑-行为关系和进化的科学家。我们预计，在我们的项目中培训的个人将在学术环境中进行比较神经生物学和进化论的全日制研究。至少，我们的培训将确保他们能够将他们的工作放在适当的背景下，并有助于增加我们在神经生物学、进化和动物行为领域的日益增长的理解。我们将通过正式课程、研讨会、年度研讨会、年度研究论坛以及最重要的日常研究活动和跨实验室互动来实现我们对比较神经生物学、进化和动物行为的关注。除伦理课程外，我们不要求博士后实习生进行正式的课程作业，但鼓励他们审核适当的课程。博士后和博士后实习生面向全国招生。值得注意的是，我们培训计划的核心教员在招聘和留住妇女和少数民族方面有着良好的记录，这在我们研究小组的成员中是高度优先的。

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.