Training Program for the Visual Sciences

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Project Summary/Abstract (Description) We propose to continue a successful Training Program for predoctoral students and postdoctoral fellows in the visual sciences. The core of the training program is coupled strongly with and through the Neuroscience Graduate Program at UCSF. The emphasis will be on training students and fellows who will apply modern biological methods to research problems in the visual sciences. All trainees will receive comprehensive research training in the laboratory of their mentor. Additionally, trainees will receive a strong foundation in visual sciences and the disciplines of modern biology through formal course work, seminars, journal clubs, and contacts with the clinical and basic science faculty at the UCSF School of Medicine. All of the faculty members of the Training Program are established scientists who are members of the Neuroscience Program. Most of the faculty members also have affiliations with other graduate programs at UCSF. Eight of the training faculty are also members of the Department of Ophthalmology, and seven of these have neighboring laboratories in the Koret Vision Building. Twelve of the faculty members receive their primary research funding from the National Eye Institute. The research interests of the entire faculty encompass or complement one or more areas of the visual sciences, Predoctoral trainees will be selected after choosing a research mentor and following completion of the Neuroscience Core courses and 3-laboratory research rotations. The progress of predoctoral trainees will be monitored by a thesis committee and by the Vision Training Program. Postdoctoral fellows will join and train primarily in the laboratory of a selected faculty member. Collaboration with the laboratories of other training faculty, or other faculty within the School of Medicine, will be strongly encouraged. Such collaborations are a strong tradition at UCSF. UCSF is particularly well suited for this Training Program because of the strength of its research and graduate training in molecular biology, cell biology, molecular genetics, and neurosciences, and because of the quality of broad-based research in the visual sciences. The exemplary record of successful training of predoctoral students and postdoctoral fellows by the mentors on the Vision Training Grant shows the capabilities and dedication of our program. Of the 78 postdoctoral fellows who have completed training in the labs of the Vision Training Faculty in the last 10 years, 57% are presently in independent academic positions at universities, medical schools and dedicated biomedical research institutes such as the Riken in Tokyo. Another 14% remain in research in an academic setting and another 14% have taken an industrial position in companies associated with biomedical products. Continued NIH support for this training grant will be essential for enabling us to continue training scientists and academicians for the future.