Tri-Institutional Training in Vision Research

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Faculty of three contiguous institutions, Weill Medical College of Cornell University (formerly Cornell University Medical College), Sloan Kettering Institute, and The Rockefeller University, request funds to continue a collaborative tri-institutional training program in vision research started nine years ago. The current TTPVR consists of an integrated set of training activities for PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and medical students. The strengths and diversities of the faculties provide opportunities for research in retinal cell and developmental biology, genetics, phagocytosis, secretion and endocytosis, neural regeneration, development and plasticity, signal transduction, and information processing at the level of the eye and the brain. The various research projects utilize a vast array of methodologies, such as molecular and cell biology, yeast and mouse genetics, gene transfer and therapy, electrophysiology, imaging, high resolution optical microscopy, behavior, modeling, and epidemiology. The pooling of resources for vision training leads to an enrichment of programs over and above those available at the individual institutions, promotes collaborations between participating basic science faculty, as well as with clinical faculty, and provides a unique opportunity for the hiring of new Vision Faculty or attracting existing faculty into Vision Research. Interaction between Program Faculty and students takes place via a Vision seminar series and a Vision journal club, an annual post-ARVO poster session, through a course by clinical-academic faculty designed to expose basic vision scientists to vision disorders seen in the clinic and courses dealing with various aspects of vision research. This exposure provides a vehicle for a keener understanding of clinical problems and for the selection of research areas that unite clinical and basic scientists in the quest to cure blinding diseases. The request for NIH support of a proposed Tri-Institutional Training Program in Vision Research builds on major commitments by the participating institutions of faculty, funds and research space devoted to vision research.