Training Program in the Molecular Bases of Eye Diseases

描述（申请人提供）：眼病分子基础培训计划（MBED）是哈佛医学院眼科（HMS）正在进行的博士后培训计划，旨在吸引和培养高技能和积极进取的基础科学家，并将他们留在视觉研究领域。39名教职员工为该项目提供了广泛的经验。导师代表了一系列相关学科，包括视网膜发育，眼免疫学，血管生物学，神经生物学，再生医学，生长因子生物学，仅举几例。此外，还研究了各种眼部病变，如黄斑变性、青光眼、早产儿视网膜病变、角膜炎症、伤口愈合、干眼症和角膜移植等。这种多样性提供了广泛的培训机会。自1997年该计划启动以来，该计划已资助了39名学员，其中包括4名少数民族，其中许多人继续在视觉研究领域工作，他们的成就反映在他们的出版物和演讲记录中。培训补助金每年资助五名学员，为期一年，每位学员至少接受两年的培训。大多数教师都有丰富的研究经验和成功的指导记录；少数人资历较浅，但都表现出卓越的研究记录和对导师的渴望。每位教师都在HMS眼科部门任职，并隶属于Schepens眼科研究所、马萨诸塞州眼耳医院、哈佛大学、儿童医院、乔斯林糖尿病研究中心或马萨诸塞州总医院。所有的导师都有一定的资金来源，大多数教师都是由国家眼科研究所（NEI）资助的。MBED培训计划旨在为学员提供分子方法和模型方面的专业知识，以及对眼科学面临的突出临床和基础研究问题的理解。教师对学员成功的承诺可以从学员出席研讨会的情况介绍和最终学员的质量上得到证明。所涉及的机构位于波士顿/剑桥，提供了出色的研究环境，可以使用优秀的设施和资源。该项目涵盖了培养一名独立和成功的视力研究员所需的所有方面的培训，包括：全日制研究、教学课程和研讨会，旨在教育这些非常合格的受训者在基本和临床原则方面，以识别和解决重要的眼科问题，在拨款和手稿写作方面的指导以及演讲技巧，以及负责任的研究行为方面的培训。五名在申请项目时博士后经验不超过两年的学员将每年接受MBED培训计划的培训，成为下一代科学家，通过寻找新的诊断、预防和治疗手段来解决眼病问题。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Training Program in the Molecular Bases of Eye Diseases (MBED) is an ongoing postdoctoral training program in the Department of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School (HMS) aimed at attracting and training highly skilled and motivated basic scientists and retaining them in the field of vision research. The thirty-nine faculty members provide a broad spectrum of experience to the program. The mentors represent a range of relevant discipline including retinal development, ocular immunology, vascular biology, neurobiology, regenerative medicine, growth factor biology, to name a few. In addition, a variety of ocular pathologies are investigated such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinopathy of prematurity, corneal inflammation, wound healing, dry eye and corneal transplantation, among many others. This diversity provides a wide range of training opportunities. Since the initiation of the Program in 1997, the program has funded thirty-nine trainees, including four minorities, many of who continue in the field of vision research and whose achievements are reflected in their publications and presentation record. The Training Grant supports five trainees annually for one year by and each trainee spend at least two years total in training. A majority of the faculty has extensive research experience and successful mentoring records; a few are more junior but all demonstrated records of research excellence and a desire to mentor. Each faculty member has an appointment in the Department of Ophthalmology at HMS, and is affiliated with Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard University, Children's Hospital, The Joslin Diabetes Research Center or Massachusetts General Hospital. All mentors have some source of funding and most of the faculties are funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI). The MBED training program is designed to provide trainees with expertise in molecular approaches and models as well as an understanding of the outstanding clinical and basic research questions facing ophthalmology. The commitment of the faculty to the success of their trainees is evidenced by the presence at the seminar presentations of their trainees and the quality of resulting trainees. The Boston/Cambridge location of the institutions involved provides outstanding research environments with access to excellent facilities and resources. The program encompasses all aspects of training required to produce an independent and successful vision researcher including: full-time research, didactic courses and seminars aimed at educating these very well qualified trainees in both basic and clinical principles central to identifying and solving important ophthalmic problems, instruction in grant and manuscript writing as well as presentation skills, and training in the responsible conduct of research. Five trainees with no more than two years of postdoctoral experience at the time of application to the program will be trained annually by the MBED training program to be the next generation of scientists to address the problems of eye disease by identifying new means of diagnosis, prevention and treatment. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Narrative as reported by the World Health Organization in May 2009, of the 314 million people in the world who are visually impaired, 45 million are blind. The leading causes of blindness include cataract, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, corneal opacities, diabetic retinopathy, and trachoma. The Training Program in the Molecular Bases of Eye Diseases seeks to train multi-disciplinary scientists to investigate the causes of these diseases with the goal of identifying diagnosis, treatment and eventually cures.