NIDCD T32 Interdisciplinary Training Program in Hearing Research

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Project Summary Progress towards understanding mechanisms of hearing, and the treatment of hearing deficits, requires an integrated effort from multiple disciplines. The Center for Hearing Research (CHR) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) maintains an interdisciplinary training program that takes advantage of the breadth and depth of hearing research at UCI to train new scientists broadly across multiple disciplines and deeply in one. The 21 training faculty in CHR span six departments in five Schools (primary appointments in Biological Sciences, Medicine, Social Sciences and Education; joint appointments in Engineering) with research interests that cover a broad range of levels (genes, molecules, cells, systems and behavior) and experimental approaches (cell and molecular biology, neurophysiology, psychoacoustics, computation, human imaging, human learning, medical device engineering). Thus, CHR is ideally positioned to offer interdisciplinary training. We request support for three predoctoral students and two postdoctoral researchers including medical residents. The didactic core of the training program is a course in Auditory Neuroscience, which covers the auditory system from cells to psychoacoustics, cochlea to cortex, and basic to clinical sciences. Mandatory features of the training program that encourage interdisciplinary interactions are participation in all CHR activities (e.g., seminar series, journal club and annual conferences), presentations to scientifically diverse audiences, and regular meetings with basic and clinical scientists. The normal period of support for trainees is two years. Predoctoral trainees normally enter the program in their second year of graduate study and are required to take a course on grant writing and prepare an NRSA proposal. The program is managed by the Program Director and an Executive Committee, and will foster development of trainees’ intellectual, technical and professional skills needed to pursue successful careers in hearing research.