Training Program in the Molecular Bases of Eye Diseases

描述(由申请人提供)：眼病分子基础培训计划(MBED)是哈佛医学院眼科(HMS)正在进行的博士后培训计划，旨在吸引和培训高技能和积极进取的基础科学家，并将他们留在视力研究领域。39名教职员工为该项目提供了广泛的经验。导师代表了一系列相关学科，包括视网膜发育、眼免疫学、血管生物学、神经生物学、再生医学、生长因子生物学等。此外，还研究了各种眼部病理，如黄斑变性、青光眼、早产儿视网膜病变、角膜炎症、伤口愈合、干眼症和角膜移植等。这种多样性提供了广泛的培训机会。自1997年启动该方案以来，该方案已资助了39名受训人员，其中包括4名少数民族，其中许多人继续在视觉研究领域工作，他们的成就反映在他们的出版物和演讲记录中。培训补助金每年资助五名受训人员，为期一年，每个受训人员总共至少接受两年的培训。大多数教职员工拥有丰富的研究经验和成功的指导记录；少数教职员工资历较浅，但都表现出卓越的研究记录和指导意愿。每位教员都在HMS的眼科有预约，并隶属于谢彭斯眼科研究所、马萨诸塞州眼耳医院、哈佛大学、儿童医院、乔斯林糖尿病研究中心或马萨诸塞州综合医院。所有的导师都有一定的资金来源，大多数教职员工都是由国家眼科研究所(NEI)资助的。Med培训计划旨在为学员提供分子方法和模型方面的专业知识，以及对眼科面临的突出临床和基础研究问题的了解。教员对受训人员取得成功的承诺体现在他们受训人员出席研讨会的情况以及由此产生的受训人员的质量。参与研究的机构位于波士顿/剑桥，这为优秀的研究环境提供了一流的设施和资源。该计划包括培养一名独立和成功的视力研究人员所需的方方面面的培训，包括：全日制研究、教学课程和研讨会，旨在教育这些非常合格的受训人员识别和解决重要眼科问题的基本和临床原则，拨款和手稿写作以及演示技能方面的指导，以及负责任的研究行为培训。在申请该计划时，五名具有不超过两年博士后经验的受训人员将每年接受med培训计划的培训，成为下一代科学家，通过寻找新的诊断、预防和治疗方法来解决眼病问题。 公共卫生相关性：叙述正如世界卫生组织2009年5月报告的那样，在世界上3.14亿视障人士中，有4500万人是盲人。导致失明的主要原因包括白内障、青光眼、老年性黄斑变性、角膜混浊、糖尿病视网膜病变和沙眼。眼病分子基础培训计划旨在培训多学科科学家调查这些疾病的原因，目的是确定诊断、治疗和最终治愈。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Training Program in the Molecular Bases of Eye Diseases (MBED) is an ongoing postdoctoral training program in the Department of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School (HMS) aimed at attracting and training highly skilled and motivated basic scientists and retaining them in the field of vision research. The thirty-nine faculty members provide a broad spectrum of experience to the program. The mentors represent a range of relevant discipline including retinal development, ocular immunology, vascular biology, neurobiology, regenerative medicine, growth factor biology, to name a few. In addition, a variety of ocular pathologies are investigated such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinopathy of prematurity, corneal inflammation, wound healing, dry eye and corneal transplantation, among many others. This diversity provides a wide range of training opportunities. Since the initiation of the Program in 1997, the program has funded thirty-nine trainees, including four minorities, many of who continue in the field of vision research and whose achievements are reflected in their publications and presentation record. The Training Grant supports five trainees annually for one year by and each trainee spend at least two years total in training. A majority of the faculty has extensive research experience and successful mentoring records; a few are more junior but all demonstrated records of research excellence and a desire to mentor. Each faculty member has an appointment in the Department of Ophthalmology at HMS, and is affiliated with Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard University, Children's Hospital, The Joslin Diabetes Research Center or Massachusetts General Hospital. All mentors have some source of funding and most of the faculties are funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI). The MBED training program is designed to provide trainees with expertise in molecular approaches and models as well as an understanding of the outstanding clinical and basic research questions facing ophthalmology. The commitment of the faculty to the success of their trainees is evidenced by the presence at the seminar presentations of their trainees and the quality of resulting trainees. The Boston/Cambridge location of the institutions involved provides outstanding research environments with access to excellent facilities and resources. The program encompasses all aspects of training required to produce an independent and successful vision researcher including: full-time research, didactic courses and seminars aimed at educating these very well qualified trainees in both basic and clinical principles central to identifying and solving important ophthalmic problems, instruction in grant and manuscript writing as well as presentation skills, and training in the responsible conduct of research. Five trainees with no more than two years of postdoctoral experience at the time of application to the program will be trained annually by the MBED training program to be the next generation of scientists to address the problems of eye disease by identifying new means of diagnosis, prevention and treatment. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Narrative as reported by the World Health Organization in May 2009, of the 314 million people in the world who are visually impaired, 45 million are blind. The leading causes of blindness include cataract, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, corneal opacities, diabetic retinopathy, and trachoma. The Training Program in the Molecular Bases of Eye Diseases seeks to train multi-disciplinary scientists to investigate the causes of these diseases with the goal of identifying diagnosis, treatment and eventually cures.