Training in Molecular Toxicology

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) This training grant will support pre-doctoral and postdoctoral students in the Molecular Toxicology Interdepartmental Program (IDP) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Prior to the establishment of the IDP in 2000, toxicological research and training was scattered through many departments at UCLA, and lacked cohesion and coordination. Establishment of the IDP focused training in one program and stimulated interactions and collaborations among the participating faculty and their students and postdoctoral fellows. The training grant will help further consolidate, improve and expand the Molecular Toxicology Program, and signal the "arrival" of toxicology as an important player in the biomedical sciences at UCLA. The nine faculty of the training grant have their primary appointments in seven different departments in three different schools. Nevertheless their laboratories/offices are in close proximity to one another. The faculty members have substantial NIEHS funding. Most importantly, they have a common interest in the mechanisms whereby toxicants induce disease. Several of the faculty members investigate the role of air pollution particulates in the exacerbation of asthma. Others investigate the carcinogenic/mutagenic effects of these and other environmental pollutants. A new area for the program is the role of pesticides in the etiology of Parkinson's disease. Capitalizing on their experience with ambient air particles, some of the faculty have begun research on the emerging field of the toxicity of manufactured nanoparticles (nanotoxicology). One pre- and one postdoctoral position is requested in the first year. These numbers will progressively increase to four and two, respectively, in the fifth year. Pre-doctoral students will be supported for up to three years after they have completed their first year of course work. Postdoctoral fellows will receive two years of support. Five of the nine mentoring faculty are physician-scientists. These faculty members will provide an avenue for the recruitment of physicians to postdoctoral positions in the training grant. The grant is highly relevant to public health. A better understanding of the processes whereby air pollution, pesticides and other environmental pollutants cause diseases, including asthma, cancer, and/or Parkinson's disease, will lead to improved risk assessment as well as methodologies for reducing or eliminating the deleterious effects of these environmental agents. BACKGROUND This is a resubmission of an application for a training grant in Molecular Toxicology at UCLA. This revised application has undergone substantial revision to address concerns of the previous review. Training grant preceptors without R01 type funding have been omitted and the number of preceptors has decreased from fifteen to nine. Course requirements have been changed to reflect the addition of more toxicology courses. Previous incomplete sections/tables are now generally complete. Dr. Hankinson, the Program Director, presented that among the 9 faculty members included in this current training grant, 7 now have substantial NIEHS funding. In response to the concern that none of the mentors is affiliated with environmental health sciences, Dr. Hankinson points out that one of the new members of the faculty (Dr. Froines) is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, while two other members of the faculty (Drs. Ritz and Schiestl) have secondary appointments in that Department. He also points out that it should be noted that the Molecular Toxicology Program is an interdepartmental program, and believes that the resulting broad perspective represents one of the strengths of the program.