Training in Hearing, Balance, and Spatial Orientation

描述(申请人提供)：培训未来一代的科学家和临床医生是必要的，以确保我们人口的健康，同时提高我们对影响我们的无数疾病的理解以及治疗和结果。我们提出了一个新的培训计划，专门针对听力、平衡和空间定向，这些都是NIDCD使命中的关键领域。对内耳感觉的研究面临着物理和生物世界相互作用的复杂系统，内在地需要多学科的方法来取得成功和进步。这一建议基于4个原则：1)对进入听力、平衡和空间定向研究生涯的研究人员的理想培训，跨越部门和学科；2)通过结合不同优势、兴趣和解决共同问题的方法的共同互动路径，促进对未来学术临床医生和科学家的培训；3)我们的目标研究领域特别适合具有神经生物学和工程学背景的受训人员；以及4)最有可能在研究中取得成功的受训人员是那些在研究培训方面表现出大量时间和精力的人，最明显的例子是医学博士/博士学生。基于这些原则，我们提出了一个跨部门的综合培训计划，包括住院医生、博士后和博士后实习生，并专注于多学科方法来理解听力、平衡和空间定向，以及困扰这些系统的疾病。受训人员将包括医学博士/博士学生、具有明显研究兴趣的耳鼻咽喉科住院医生，以及攻读生物研究的具有工程学研究生或本科生学位的博士后或博士后实习生。听力、平衡和空间定向的研究生课程将成为教育经验的教学基石，学员之间的定期互动将通过每月的研究进展会议得到加强。这项提议建立在罗切斯特大学现有的关于听力、平衡和空间定向的研究和临床基础设施上--特别是P30资助的导航和通信科学中心，有来自7个系的24名独立研究人员。围绕这一核心调查人员和资源小组，我们现在增加了教育和研究机会，为在NIDCD任务的这些关键领域进行研究和培训创造一个广泛、综合的环境。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Training future generations of scientists and clinicians is necessary to provide for the health of our population while improving our understanding of, as well as treatments and outcomes for, the myriad diseases that affect us. We propose a new training program specifically targeted toward hearing, balance, and spatial orientation, all key areas within the mission of the NIDCD. Research on the senses of the inner ear confronts complex systems where the physical and biological worlds interact, and inherently require multidisciplinary approaches to achieve success and advancement. This proposal is founded on 4 principles: 1) the ideal training for investigators entering research careers in hearing, balance and spatial orientation cuts across lines of departments and disciplines; 2) the training of future academic clinicians and scientists is facilitated by a common interactive path that combines different strengths, interests, and approaches to solve common problems; 3) our targeted areas of research are particularly well suited for trainees with a background in both neurobiology and engineering; and 4) medical trainees most likely to succeed in research are those who have demonstrated a substantial commitment in both time and energy to research training, most clearly exemplified by M.D./Ph.D. students. Based on these principles, we propose an integrated training program that cuts across departmental lines, includes resident, pre-doctoral, and post-doctoral trainees, and focuses on multidisciplinary approaches to understanding hearing, balance, and spatial orientation, as well as disorders afflicting those systems. Trainees will include M.D./Ph.D. students, otolaryngology residents with demonstrated research interests, and pre- or post-doctoral trainees with graduate or undergraduate degrees in engineering pursuing biological research. A graduate course in hearing, balance, and spatial orientation will be the didactic cornerstone of the educational experience and regular interactions between trainees is reinforced through monthly research progress meetings. This proposal builds upon the existing research and clinical infrastructure around hearing, balance and spatial orientation at the University of Rochester - particularly the P30-funded Center for Navigation and Communication Sciences, with 24 independent researchers from 7 departments. Around this core group of investigators and resources, we now add educational and research opportunities to create an extensive, integrated environment for the conduct of research and training in these crucial areas of the NIDCD mission.