PREDOCTORAL TRAINING PROGRAM IN THE NEUROSCIENCES

描述（由申请人提供）：拟议培训计划的长期目标是提高下一代神经科学家的研究效率。神经科学正在解决大脑与行为之间关系的最基本问题。这对健康以及对理解人性的影响是深远的。为了在这个快速发展的领域有效地工作，学生必须学习高度专业化的研究技术。然而，人们越来越认识到，教育学生认识到重大进步可能取决于以多层次的专业化来解决问题，这是非常有价值的。一个计划是为博士前学生在他们的前两年的培训，将确保广泛接触到神经科学的各个领域，同时提供培训与重点研究项目。重点是通过让学生进入实验室与他们的职业兴趣，只要他们加入该计划实现。通过课程要求和参与大量的方案范围内的活动来实现广度。在头两年的培训中，课程要求包括神经科学基础课程（神经生理学;神经解剖学），一门探索神经科学分析的全方位水平的课程（“从分子到行为”），1个学期轮换到两个实验室以外的家庭实验室，指导负责任的研究行为，以及选修课的选择，以生理学为主题，以行为学为主题。方案范围内的活动包括参加每周活动（座谈会;研究研讨会）和年度活动（杰出的系列讲座及其相关研讨会）。在培训计划的前两年中实现的集中和广泛的神经科学接触特别旨在为学生在论文和博士后工作中的创新研究做好准备，并为以后在涉及健康相关问题的研究和教学生涯中取得成功做好准备。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term goal of the proposed training program is to enhance research effectiveness in the next generation of neuroscientists. Neuroscience is addressing the most fundamental questions on the relationship between brain and behavior. The implications for health, as well as for understanding human nature, are profound. To work effectively in this fast-expanding field, it is necessary that students learn highly specialized research techniques. It is, however, increasingly recognized that there is great value in teaching students to appreciate that significant advances can depend on approaching problems with multiple levels of specialization. A program is proposed for predoctoral students in their first two years of training that will insure broad exposure to the varied fields of neuroscience while simultaneously providing training with a focused research project. Focus is achieved by having the students enter a lab associated with their career interests as soon as they join the program. Breadth is achieved through curriculum requirements and through involvement in a large number of program-wide activities. In the first two years of training, the curriculum requirements include courses in the fundamentals of neuroscience (neurophysiology; neuroanatomy), a course exploring the full range of levels of analysis in neuroscience ("from molecules to behavior"), 1-term rotations to two laboratories other than the home lab, instruction in the responsible conduct of research, and selection of elective courses with a theme in physiology and with a theme in behavior. Program-wide activities include attendance at weekly events (colloquium; research seminars) and annual events (a distinguished lecture series with its associated seminar). The focused and broad exposure to neuroscience achieved in the first two years of the training program is especially intended to prepare students for innovative research in their thesis and postdoctoral work, and for later success in their research and teaching careers involving health-related problems.