Short Term Research Training at the New England College of Optometry

描述（由申请人提供）：新英格兰视光学院申请为期五年的暑期研究培训奖学金，从该校和其他视光学院的OD项目中选出10名学生。本培训的目标是帮助学生获得强烈的研究意识：如何从实验室活动和临床观察中获得证据；如何分析数据；理论是如何被提出、检验、接受或拒绝的；以及新的研究成果如何转化为临床实践。受训者应该对他们的领域有更深入的了解，并有能力判断基于研究的报告的质量。该项目的目标是让一些受训者根据自己的经验决定从事研究工作。奖学金的申请是通过当地的宣传和信息发送到各个视光学院。学员的选择是基于优秀的学习成绩和推荐信。根据过去的表现，受训者的经验水平可能从本科时的一些研究经验到丰富的实验室经验不等。每个学员根据共同的兴趣被分配到导师的实验室/项目中。导师在研究的各个方面指导受训者，是他/她的主要倡导者和评估者。导师都是由国家眼科研究所或其他来源资助的有经验的研究人员。他们的研究领域包括解剖学、病理生理学、生物化学、心理物理学、视网膜成像、流行病学和临床研究。近视是一个中心主题，并在动物模型和人类研究中进行。该项目每年夏季将持续10周。每周将举行一次全体学员参加的研究讨论会。该研讨会将使学员熟悉学院内正在进行的研究，并包括有关研究伦理的讲座；使用人类和动物实验对象的限制和考虑；并进行研究设计和统计分析。外部演讲者将介绍他们在眼像差和眼球运动等主题上的最新研究。在为期十周的课程结束时，所有学员将向小组展示他们的工作并提交书面报告。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Support is requested for five years of Summer Research Training Fellowships at The New England College of Optometry for ten students selected from OD programs here and at other Colleges of Optometry. The goal of this training is to help students gain a strong sense of research: how evidence is gained from laboratory activities and from clinical observations; how data are analyzed; how theories are advanced, tested, and accepted or rejected; and how new research findings are translated into clinical practice. Trainees should gain a greater understanding of their field and an ability to judge the quality of research based reports. A goal of the program is for some trainees to decide to pursue research careers on the basis of their experiences. Applications for the fellowships are solicited by local publicity as well as information sent to the various Colleges of Optometry. Trainees are selected on the basis of strong academic records and recommendations. Based on past performance, the level of experience of the trainees is likely to range from some exposure to research as an undergraduate to extensive laboratory experience. Each trainee is assigned to the laboratory/project of a mentor on the basis of common interests. The mentor guides the trainee in all aspects of research and is her/his primary advocate and evaluator. The mentors are all experienced investigators with ongoing research funded either by the National Eye Institute or other sources. Their research areas include anatomy, pathophysiology, biochemistry, psychophysics, retinal imaging, epidemiology, and clinical research. Myopia is a central theme and is pursued with both animal models and human studies. The program will continue for a 10-week period each summer. A research seminar attended by all trainees will be held each week. This seminar will acquaint the trainees with the ongoing research within the College and include lectures on the ethics of research; constraints and considerations on the use of human and animal subjects; and research design and statistical analysis. Outside speakers will present their latest research on topics such as ocular aberrations and eye movements. At the end of the ten-week program, all trainees will present their work to the group and submit a written report.