Epilepsy Research Training Program

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This revised submission requests renewed support for an Institutional Postdoctoral Training Program, to enable recruitment and education of four Trainees per year for careers in research areas germane to the neurobiology, co-morbidities and cure of human epilepsy. The proposed training will take place in the laboratories of 12 preceptors from five departments, and will include Program-specific courses and clinical-translational field trips, as well as seminars, discussion groups and symposia. The first four years of this Program have been rewarding, as the eight Program graduates all remain in Academia: Two are now Assistant Professors in the tenure track, one is a faculty instructor, two are faculty in partially-independent positions at UCI, and two are pursuing additional post-doctoral fellowships to round out their education in epilepsy research. Altogether, twelve excellent Trainees have been enrolled to date, including two of under-represented groups, one MD and seven women. These initial outcome data, together with the comprehensive restructuring of the Program, the addition of Program-specific courses and clinic-oriented field trips, and the recent availability of an MD trainee pool in the Department of Neurosurgery, will enable this Program to provide postdoctoral PhDs and MDs with a structured and nurturing training environment for careers in research relevant to epilepsy. Although epilepsy is the third most common chronic brain disorder, it remains relatively understudied, and the current Program is one of only two epilepsy-focused postdoctoral Training Programs in the U.S.