TRAINING GRANT ON THE BIOLOGY OF AGING

衰老生物学培训补助金

• 批准号: 7435664
• 负责人: STEVEN N. AUSTAD
• 金额: $ 26.86万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-05-01 至 2013-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7435664
• 关键词: Biology of Aging; Grant; Training

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed program represents a 5-year continuation of an institutional training grant in the biology of aging, which was consolidated in 2003 from two departmental training grants. We request funds to support 10 predoctoral and 6 postdoctoral trainees. The impending avalanche of elderly in the US combined with major recent advances in understanding fundamental mechanisms of aging has created a substantial demand for researchers trained to investigate means of delaying and relieving the ailments of an aging population. The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is a premier research institution in the biology of aging, currently receiving more research funding from the Biology of Aging Program of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) than any other stand-alone medical institution. The primary goal of the proposed Training Program is to intellectually prepare both graduate students and postdoctoral fellows for careers as leaders in basic biological research in aging. The Training Program involves 25 faculty members (14 men, 11 women) and takes advantage of the synergies created by intensely collaborative personnel, the unique resources available from our Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Biology of Aging and the institutional commitment to, and expanding resources of, the Barshop Institute itself. Trainees will be chosen competitively based on academic excellence, their interest in aging research, and motivation for careers in research. The main activity of each trainee is the development of their faculty-supervised research project, which because of the extent of collaboration among our faculty tends to result surprisingly often in team mentorships. Another key component is to require broad knowledge in the biology of aging acquired in our two biology of aging courses such that trainees can place their research in an appropriate scientific context. In addition to this formal didactic training, we require trainees to attend the weekly Aging Research Journal Club and the Barshop Institute seminar series. Our program also emphasizes training in scientific communication with multiple venues for trainees to hone skills in both written and oral presentation. The timing of the proposed Training Program is propitious in that it will span the transition of our graduate student program from its current status as a Special Biology of Aging Track within the Department of Cellular & Structural Biology to its future status as an independent graduate program - the nation's first Ph.D. program in the Biology of Aging. That transition process has already been initiated and will be completed during the proposed funding period. This application is a new training program for research scientists in the areas of genetics of aging, lifespan intervention analyses in animal models, and age-related diseases. Pre- and post-doctoral fellows (10 and 6 per year respectively) will be trained in the biology of aging. The trainees will participate in projects involving: programmed changes in gene expression; somatic mutations and epigenetic changes in gene expression; free radicals, DNA damage and DNA repair; aging of endocrine and immune systems; transmembrane signaling; oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis; and the molecular aspects of age-associated diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and prostatic hyperplasia and neoplasia. The Biology of Aging course and journal clubs on current topics in gerontology will provide the formal setting for didactic training. The Aging Seminar Series will be the focal point of interactions of the trainees with eminent scientists working in the field of aging. Trainees will be selected based on their interest in aging, academic excellence, and motivation for careers in research, instruction and service as reflected from their academic records, and letters of recommendations. The Institutional core facilities for generating transgenic mice, biometry, recombinant DNA technology, hybridoma, flow cytometry microassay and confocal microscopy will be available to all trainees and the participating faculty. This program is comprised of 27 faculty trainers of whom 22 are funded by the NIA. Two are newly recruited Assistant Professors with a clear interest in aging. The three senior investigators with other funding are interested in aging, involved in teaching in the Aging course, and participating in the journal club, and provide research interests that add to, rather than duplicate, that of the other trainers. As a result, the trainees will have a broad range of research to choose from and they will work with individuals who have demonstrated their training ability. San Antonio has the unique situation of having access to and recruiting minorities from the undergraduate universities in the area, e.g., University of Texas at San Antonio and St. Mary's University. A strong effort will be made to do just this. Support of this program has all the potential of training a much needed group of scientists; the gerontologists of the future.

描述(由申请者提供)：建议的计划是衰老生物学机构培训补助金的5年延续，该补助金于2003年从两个部门的培训补助金合并而来。我们申请资助10名博士后和6名博士后学员。美国即将出现的老年人雪崩，加上最近在了解老龄化基本机制方面取得的重大进展，对研究人员产生了巨大的需求，这些研究人员接受过培训，研究延缓和缓解老龄化人口疾病的方法。位于圣安东尼奥的德克萨斯大学健康科学中心是衰老生物学方面的一流研究机构，目前从国家老龄研究所(NIA)的老龄生物学计划获得的研究资金比任何其他独立的医疗机构都多。拟议的培训计划的主要目标是为研究生和博士后研究员作为衰老基础生物学研究的领导者的职业生涯做好智力准备。该培训计划涉及25名教职员工(14名男性，11名女性)，并利用了高度协作的人员创造的协同效应、我们的内森老龄生物学卓越中心提供的独特资源，以及机构对Barshop Institute本身的承诺和不断扩大的资源。受训者将根据学术成就、他们对老龄化研究的兴趣以及对研究职业的动机进行竞争性选择。每个实习生的主要活动是开发他们由教员监督的研究项目，由于我们教员之间的合作程度，这一项目往往会出人意料地经常导致团队指导。另一个关键部分是需要在我们的两门衰老生物学课程中获得关于衰老生物学的广泛知识，以便受训者能够将他们的研究置于适当的科学背景下。除了这种正式的教学培训外，我们还要求学员参加每周一次的老龄化研究期刊俱乐部和Barshop Institute研讨会系列。我们的计划还强调科学交流方面的培训，为学员提供多个场所，以磨练书面和口头陈述的技能。拟议的培训计划的时机是有利的，因为它将跨越我们的研究生课程从目前作为细胞和结构生物学系内的衰老特别生物学轨道的地位过渡到未来作为一个独立的研究生课程的地位--美国第一个关于衰老生物学的博士课程。这一过渡进程已经启动，并将在拟议的供资期间完成。 这项应用是对研究科学家在衰老遗传学、动物模型寿命干预分析和年龄相关疾病领域的新培训计划。博士后和博士后研究员(每年分别为10人和6人)将接受衰老生物学方面的培训。学员将参与的项目包括：基因表达的程序性变化；基因表达的体细胞突变和表观遗传学变化；自由基、DNA损伤和DNA修复；内分泌和免疫系统的老化；跨膜信号；细胞生长、分化和凋亡中的癌基因和肿瘤抑制基因；以及与年龄相关的疾病的分子方面，如阿尔茨海默病、帕金森氏病和前列腺增生和肿瘤。老龄化生物学课程和老年学当前主题的期刊俱乐部将为教学培训提供正式环境。老龄研讨会系列将是学员与在老龄领域工作的著名科学家互动的焦点。学员的选择将基于他们对年龄的兴趣，学术成就，以及从他们的学业成绩和推荐信中反映出来的对研究、教学和服务行业的职业动机。所有受训者和参与的教员将获得用于产生转基因小鼠的机构核心设施、生物统计学、重组DNA技术、杂交瘤、流式细胞仪显微分析和共聚焦显微镜。这项计划由27名教员培训人员组成，其中22人由NIA资助。其中两位是新招聘的助理教授，显然对老龄化感兴趣。这三名拥有其他资金的高级调查人员对老龄化感兴趣，参与了老龄课程的教学，并参加了期刊俱乐部，并提供了增加而不是重复其他培训人员的研究兴趣。因此，学员将有广泛的研究可供选择，他们将与证明其培训能力的个人合作。圣安东尼奥拥有独特的条件，可以进入该地区的本科大学，并从该地区的本科大学招收少数族裔，例如德克萨斯大学圣安东尼奥分校和圣玛丽大学。我们将作出强有力的努力来做到这一点。对这一计划的支持完全有可能培养出一批急需的科学家，即未来的老年病学家。