Postdoctoral Training in the Biology of Drug Abuse

描述（由申请人提供）：本培训基金的总体目的是为药物滥用神经生物学领域的年轻基础科学家和医生提供博士后培训，重点是精神兴奋剂和阿片类药物在遗传，分子，电路和行为水平上的作用模式。我们的目标是提供一个令人兴奋和创新的环境，拥有世界一流的设施和师资，培养下一代从事药物滥用研究的科学家。培训将在密歇根大学的多学科环境中进行。这15名教师都是NIDA的受助者（或共同研究者），他们在药物滥用的神经生物学方面拥有专业知识，特别强调阿片类药物和精神兴奋剂药物领域。该提案的重点是培训博士和博士后，用最先进的方法研究精神活性药物滥用的机制。这包括研究导致易于滥用药物的遗传、发育和环境因素；在分子、细胞、解剖和行为各级研究滥用药物的作用方式；以及精神药物对大脑的长期影响，通过神经可塑性机制介导。工作假设是，与慢性药物使用相关的功能和结构脑重塑是对这些药物的耐受性，致敏性，身体依赖和心理成瘾的基础。密歇根大学的药物滥用研究界质量很高，在该领域有着悠久的历史。除了各自的优势外，培训教师之间还建立了长期的科研和培训关系。这些历史上的优势最近在密歇根大学的一些倡议下得到了显著的增强，旨在促进生命科学研究，特别是神经科学研究。它们包括最先进的小鼠和大鼠遗传学、基因组学、蛋白质组学和信息学工具。因此，我们的学员将受益于一个高度复杂，但支持，研究和培训环境。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall purpose of this training grant is to provide postdoctoral training to young basic scientists and physicians in the area of neurobiology of substance abuse, with a focus on the mode of action of psychostimulant and opiate drugs at the genetic, molecular, circuit and behavioral levels. Our objective is to provide an exciting and innovative environment with world class facilities and faculty to develop the next generation of scientists working in drug abuse. Training will take place in the multidisciplinary setting at the University of Michigan. The 15 faculty are all NIDA grantees (or Co-Investigators) and have expertise in the neurobiology of substance abuse, with particular emphasis on the area of opioid and psychostimulant drugs. The focus of the proposal is the training of Ph.D. and M.D. postdoctoral fellows in state-of-the-art approaches for studying mechanisms underlying abuse of psychoactive drugs. This includes studying the genetic, developmental and environmental factors that lead to vulnerability to substance abuse: the mode of action of drugs of abuse at the molecular, cellular, anatomical and behavioral levels; and the long-term consequences of psychoactive drugs on the brain, as mediated through mechanisms of neural plasticity. The working assumption is that the functional and structural brain remodeling associated with chronic drug use lies at the basis of tolerance, sensitization, physical dependence, and psychological addiction to these drugs. The drug abuse research community at the University of Michigan is of high quality and has a long history in the field. Beyond their individual strengths, the training faculty members have long-term scientific and training relationships with each other. These historical strengths have recently been significantly enhanced with a number of initiatives at the University of Michigan, designed to facilitate life science research in general, and neuroscience research in particular. They include state-of-the-art tools for mouse and rat genetics, genomics, proteomics, and informatics. Thus, our trainees will profit from a highly sophisticated, yet supportive, research and training environment.