COBRE: UVM: CORE D: TRANSLATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE TRAINING

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. One of the original goals of the COBRE Center was the creation of a Translational Core to: (a) facilitate interactions between basic and clinical neuroscientists to enhance translational research, and (b) support research experiences for undergraduate students, medical students and residents. In 2003, we initiated an in-depth summer research experience for undergraduate students, the Summer Neuroscience Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program. A major responsibility of the Translational Core each year is to organize and present a didactic course, which focuses on a specific neurological disease or psychiatric disease. The course is designed to illustrate the progress of translational neuroscience research, which is focused on a particular disease entity. The disease to be covered changes every year. In prior grant periods, the disease entities covered included Parkinson's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Schizophrenia, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Cerebrovascular Diseases and Autism. This past year, the course focused on Dementia of the Elderly and consisted of 12 weekly sessions ranging from clinical research to basic molecular approaches. Faculty from the Departments of Neurology, Psychology, and Psychiatry collaborated in this team-taught course. In addition, two outside speakers, Drs. Brad Hyman (Harvard Uuniversity) and John Morris (Washington University) contributed lectures this past year. The course is attended by graduate students, residents and faculty. During this past grant period, no medical students elected to gain research experience through the Translational Core year-out medical research program even though the program was well advertised. We will continue efforts to actively recruit second year medical students for this research opportunity next grant year. The Summer Undergraduate Neuroscience Research Fellowship (SNURF) program continues to be very successful. Since its inception, 8 students have participated in this summer research program each year. We have been able to attract students from across the country and have included young women and students from underrepresented groups each year. Both basic and clinical neuroscience faculty participate as student mentors and a side effect of the interaction of different neuroscience faculty has been an enhancement of translational research activities. Undergraduates perform 10 weeks of research, read primary literature and attend lectures given by COBRE faculty. This past summer, the Translational Core provided stipend and lodging support for nine students participating in our Summer Neuroscience Undergraduate Fellowship program. Matching support was obtained from faculty research grants and through operating funds from the Departments of Anatomy & Neurobiology and Neurology. Three of the nine students were from underrepresented minority groups. This past year, we also received supplemental funding (Supplement 3P20 RR016435-09S1 -- see subproject page) to enhance this undergraduate research program. The supplemental funds allowed us to support an additional 10 students last summer. We will use the remaining supplemental funds and parent COBRE funds to support 17 students in this program this upcoming summer. We continue to contact students periodically after they graduate from the summer research program in order to monitor their career development and our effectiveness in assisting them. In the six years the program has been in existence, the majority of past participants have gone on to medical or graduate school, including two who are currently students in our Neuroscience Graduate Program. Others have elected to take time out from their schooling to accept technical positions, two at UVM. We are pleased that the experience gained here has significantly helped many of our past students in their professional development.