Training in Systems and Integrative Neuroscience

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a resubmission of a competing renewal application for funds to support pre- and postdoctoral training in Integrative Neuroscience at the Center for Neural Science at New York University. This proposal represents a new direction for this program in that we will 1) partner with the Graduate Program in Neuroscience and Physiology at the NYU School of Medicine Sackler Institute of Biomedical Sciences, and 2) focus the training program on four interrelated core areas of investigation: learning, memory, development and plasticity. We seek to renew our support at the level of 6 predoctoral and 2 postdoctoral fellows. This number of trainees requested stems from our wish to create a cohesive training group of a sufficient size to foster trainee development across levels, from pre to post-doctoral and from cellular-molecular to systems and cognitive approaches, across program divisions, and to bridge the gap between translational and basic research. A group of this size is important to provide a critical mass for this new training effort. Our proposed training program will provide a central focus for pre and postdoctoral training in areas of neuroscience critical to advancing knowledge of development and degeneration of the nervous system, neural disease processes, and disorders of memory and mental health. Our trainees will have the opportunity to be a part of a cohort of world class scientists engaged in cutting-edge research related to learning, memory, development and plasticity. We have compiled a group of 23 training faculty that will provide an integrative, collaborative training experience that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries, spans levels of analysis, and levels of training. The trainees, predoctoral fellows in the third year or higher and postdoctoral fellows in the early years postdegree, will have individualized mentoring with the added benefit of a mentor with relevant clinical/translational expertise. They will also have special seminars that are designed to develop translational thinking and important skills required for future success. We expect our trainees to remain in the program for about 2 years, at which time we expect that they will have obtained independent funding or transitioned to another research support mechanism. We seek to build a steadily growing cohort of scientists with shared goals and interests, that will advance the goals of NIMH for research into the neural mechanisms of development and mental disease.