Integrative Approaches to Explore Cellular Interactions in Neural Circuits

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This is a proposal to renew an advanced predoctoral training program focused on Integrative Approaches to Explore Cellular Interactions in Neural Circuits. The goal of this program is to endow trainees with diverse research interests and scientific backgrounds with skills necessary for the study of neural circuits using multidisciplinary approaches and rigorous methodologies. This integrative program specifically targets trainees with research interests at the interface between molecular/cellular and systems/behavioral neuroscience by emphasizing scientific approaches that span multiple levels of analysis and employ multiple experimental models. The program's goals will be accomplished through a tailored curriculum that includes advanced coursework in the study of neural circuits, training in rigorous neuroscience research techniques and quantitative analysis, and mentorship in science communication and career planning. In a course that has been specifically designed for this training grant, trainees will learn from contemporary studies of neural circuits that incorporate diverse approaches, including cell and molecular neurobiology, genetics, synaptic physiology, and behavior. In this renewal, we add a new training component for PhD candidates that brings their research project to a biostatician for in-depth feedback on scientific methodologies and rigor in data analysis, in the context of the trainee's own experimental results. This training program enables predoctoral students to prepare for the intensely collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of modern neuroscience research by providing: (a) high-quality scientific education in the fundamental principles of neurobiology, state-of-the-art techniques to study neural circuits, and statistical approaches to rigorous experimental design; (b) mentoring that aids trainees’ progress toward their future careers in science, and (c) training in the professional skills that are necessary for success in academic research, including critical reading, grant writing, oral presentation, leadership, management, and networking. Four trainees will be selected by an Executive Committee on the basis of their excellence in research, interest in neural circuits, and potential for future leadership. Each trainee will be appointed for one year and will continue to receive mentoring and career development support in subsequent years. Thirty-one faculty from the NYU School of Medicine and NYU Arts and Science campus will participate in this multidisciplinary training program. Faculty mentors lead strong NIH-supported research programs and use cellular, molecular, and genetic approaches to reveal basic principles of neural circuit assembly and function. The environment at NYU strongly supports the goals of this training program, and education continues to be a core mission of our neuroscience community.