Multidisciplinary Training Program in Neuroscience

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PROJECT SUMMARY The Program in Neuroscience (PiN) at the University of Maryland Baltimore is a broad-based, non-departmental multidisciplinary program that provides contemporary predoctoral training with exceptional trainee outcomes in the discipline of neuroscience. This interdisciplinary program consists of 57 students and 117 faculty from 14 departments and 3 schools. The 60 Training Grant faculty are representative of the breadth of research which spans molecular and cellular to systems and behavior to translational work. The long-standing JSPTPN training program (16yrs) is integral to the success of PiN. Serving as the nexus that connects all aspects of neuroscience at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), it continues to drive the program’s excellence in training and research. Our mission is to provide a center of excellence for the training of outstanding graduate students in the field of neuroscience. The program currently supports 6 PiN students in years 1 & 2. In the current application we are requesting a total of 8 training positions per year (an increase of 2). The request is warranted by (1) our excellent training outcomes where students graduate within 5.5 years with an average of 2 first author publication, 44% obtain independent training research grants and 95% of PiN graduates continue in research- intensive/science-related careers; (2) our highly qualified training grant eligible and underrepresented group applicant pool and (3) the unprecedented growth of neuroscience research at UMB that includes a marked increase in the number neuroscience faculty. Modern neuroscience is evolving and growing at an unparalleled pace especially in technological and analytic advances. Thus, our objective is to train excellent scientists who, in addition to having the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to adapt to the rapidly growing and technologically evolving field of neuroscience research, will also have the confidence to be leaders in the field. To this end, the foundation of graduate training in PiN has been built upon four critical components: (i) a strong foundation in core neuroscience concepts (ii) emphasis on critical thinking skills, (iii) a deep understanding of experimental design, quantitative analysis and hypothesis testing and (iv) mentored career development. These four components are interwoven into all stages of the program’s training plan and continue to serve as the keystone to excellence in training. In the present renewal, we have continue to evolve our training program to incorporate (1) innovated teaching of experimental design, quantitative analysis and hypothesis testing through neuroscience centric problem-based learning and neuromodeling opportunities; (2) novel course designs such as the “Nano Courses”; (3) mentored laboratory rotations that require oral research presentations and (4) enhanced career development skills through mentoring and the established Office of Career Development. The stable funding of the faculty and the success of our students speaks to the strength of our graduate training efforts and that continued funding for our program is well justified. With continued support, the faculty and students in PiN can continue to spearhead the effort of multidisciplinary neuroscience at UMB.