Summer Training Course in Aging Research

申请者描述(由申请者提供)：申请资金以继续于2013年6月至2017年6月举办的一系列实验老龄化研究暑期培训课程。为期五天的课程将由圣安东尼奥的德克萨斯大学健康科学中心Barshop长寿和老龄化研究所的理查森博士指导。课程地点将在三个主办机构之间轮换：德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥的德克萨斯大学健康科学中心、加利福尼亚州诺瓦托的巴克年龄研究所和华盛顿州西雅图的华盛顿大学。自1993年以来，类似的课程每年夏天都举办得非常成功。本课程旨在为受训者提供深入接触实验生物老年学现代研究的机会，并就研究方案的制定提供个性化的指导。每年的招生人数将限制为20名研究人员。大多数受训者将处于其职业生涯的形成阶段(即，初级教师在他们的头四年或博士后研究员在他们的研究员的最后一年)，但课程也将考虑那些希望进入或将他们的努力转向老龄化研究领域的高级研究人员。每个实习生都需要在博士学位(医学博士、博士学位或医学博士学位)以外的生物学领域拥有至少两年的生产性实验室经验。为期五天的课程将包括以下四个活动：(A)两个旨在向受训者介绍生物老年学主要领域的背景、最新发现和主要未回答问题的“概述”讲座，(B)每个受训者有机会陈述他或她的研究项目的具体目标，该研究项目将受到培训学院的批评，(C)由东道主或附近机构的知名教员举办的研究研讨会，他将涵盖概述讲座中未涉及的主题或疾病方面，以及(D)关于资助老龄研究的拨款撰写和机构(例如，NIA)的讨论。因此，暑期培训课程将为启动老龄研究的初级研究人员提供坚实的现代实验老年学基础，并为更多正在开发老龄研究新项目的资深科学家提供有用的视角。四位科学家将担任课程指导委员会，负责挑选学员并每年组织课程：课程总监/PI的Arlan Richardson、将在圣安东尼奥(德克萨斯州)主持课程的Holly Van Remmen(联席主任/Co-Pi)、将在Novato(CA)主持课程的Judith Campisi(Co-Pi)以及将在西雅图(西雅图)主持课程的Peter Rabinovitch(Co-PI)。另外15名老年研究人员将担任培训系，每两到三年参加一次课程：朱莉·安德森、史蒂夫·奥斯塔德、尼尔·巴尔齐莱、安妮·布罗尼科夫斯基、安娜·玛丽亚·库尔沃、约翰·迪瑟霍夫特、米哈尔·贾兹温斯基、马特·凯伯莱恩、詹姆斯·柯克兰、理查德·米勒、夏洛特·彼得森、斯科特·普莱彻、托马斯·兰多、简·维格和郑辉。培训学院在老龄研究方面拥有丰富的经验，并在赠款支持和审查研究补助金方面有着良好的记录。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Funds are requested to continue a series of Summer Training Courses in Experimental Aging Research that will be held in June from 2013 through 2017. The five-day Course will be directed by Dr. Richardson at the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The course site will rotate among three host institutions: the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX, the Buck Institute for Age Research at Novato, CA, and the University of Washington at Seattle, WA. Similar courses have been held with great success every summer since 1993. The Course is designed to provide trainees with intensive exposure to modern research in experimental biogerontology and individualized guidance regarding the development of a research proposal. Each year's enrollment will be limited to 20 researchers. Most trainees will be in the formative stages of their careers (i.e., junior faculty in their firstfour years or postdoctoral fellows in the last year of their fellowship), but the Course also will consider senior investigators who wish to enter or redirect their efforts to an area of aging research. Each trainee is expected to have at least two years of productive laboratory experience in some aspect of biology beyond the doctoral degree (MD, PhD, or DVM). The five-day program will include the following four activities: (a) two "overview" lectures designed to introduce trainees to the context, latest findings, and main unanswered questions in major areas of biogerontology, (b) an opportunity for each trainee to present his or her Specific Aims for a research project that will be critiqued by the Training Faculty, (c) a research seminar presented by a prominent faculty member of the host or nearby institution, who will cover a topic or disease aspect not covered in the overview lectures, and (d) a discussion of grant writing and agencies (e.g., NIA) that fund research in aging. Thus, the Summer Training Course will provide junior researchers initiating research in aging with a solid foundation in modern experimental gerontology and provides a useful perspective to more senior scientists who are developing new programs in aging research. Four scientists will serve as the Course Steering Committee and will be responsible for selecting the trainees and organizing the Courses each year: Arlan Richardson, the Course Director/PI, Holly Van Remmen (Co-Director/Co-PI), who will host the Course at San Antonio (TX), Judith Campisi (Co-PI), who will host the Course at Novato (CA), and Peter Rabinovitch (Co-PI) who will host the Course at Seattle (WA). Fifteen other researchers in aging will serve as Training Faculty, attending the course every two or three years: Julie Anderson, Steve Austad, Nir Barzilai, Anne Bronikowski, Ana Maria Cuervo, John Disterhoft, Michal Jazwinski, Matt Kaeberlein, James Kirkland, Richard Miller, Charlotte Peterson, Scott Pletcher, Thomas Rando, Jan Vijg, and Hui Zheng. The Training Faculty have extensive experience in research in aging as well as a strong record of grant support and reviewing research grants.