UT Austin Center for Learning & Memory Faculty Recruitment Proposal

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Center for Learning and Memory (CLM) at The University of Texas at Austin engages in a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the neurobiology of learning and memory. The CLM facilitates the exchange of ideas and expertise across different disciplines and levels of analysis, while maintaining a specific focus on the mechanisms of leaming and memory. In addition to the Director, three outstanding senior faculty and five junior faculty have been recruited into the CLM since its inception in 2004 with expertise that spans from functional imaging in humans, to systems level analysis of learning, to cellular analysis of synaptic integration and plasticity, to biophysical analysis of the structure/function of ion channels, to the investigation of the molecular signaling within neurons. The primary goal is to create an environment that fosters and supports scientific discoveries through meaningful collaborations among faculty that span these different levels of analysis. Seven specific examples of collaborations already established among CLM faculty and four examples of collaborations between CLM faculty and faculty in other departments at the University are outlined in this proposal as evidence of this interactive environment. The University has committed resources to hire an additional 4 faculty and to fill currently unoccupied and contiguous lab space within the Center, however a reduction in the University funds available for start-up packages in the past year has made it more difficult for us to attract the most outstanding faculty. We have identified two areas of research not well represented by current CLM faculty, and these would be the focus of our immediate-term recruiting efforts. These are molecular biology and systems analyses of learning in behaving animals. This request for P30 funding is to supplement University resources for start-up packages and to facilitate the hiring of two new tenure-track faculty members into CLM. In addition, we are requesting funding to create a behavioral core facility that would provide all CLM faculty with the ability to implement the full range of behavioral tests used to assess the learning and memory phenotype of genetically modified rodents. This support can be the driving force that will move the CLM toward full representation of modern levels of analysis of the study of learning and memory and will make an immediate impact on the Center's productivity, international reputation, and ability to foster the breakthrough discoveries in brain mechanisms and disease that often result from these productive, multi-level collaborations among outstanding investigators. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The neural mechanisms underlying learning and memory are largely unknown, yet they are of enormous interest and importance to the general public and scientific community. The Center for Learning and Memory at UT Austin is a research center with faculty representing different disciplines and levels of analysis, whose research programs maintain a focus on mechanisms of learning and memory. Understanding these mechanisms provides the foundation of knowledge that is essential for understanding disorders of learning and memory, including brain injury, neurodegenerative disease, aging and psychiatric disorders.