Summer Training Course in Aging Research

项目描述（由申请人提供）：本项目将于2013年6月至2017年6月举办一系列老年实验研究暑期培训课程。为期五天的课程将由位于圣安东尼奥的德克萨斯大学健康科学中心Barshop长寿与衰老研究所的理查森博士指导。课程地点将在三个主办机构之间轮换：德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥的德克萨斯大学健康科学中心，加利福尼亚州诺瓦托的巴克年龄研究所和华盛顿州西雅图的华盛顿大学。自1993年以来，每年夏天都举办类似的课程，取得了巨大的成功。本课程旨在让学员深入了解实验生物老年学的现代研究，并在研究计划的制定方面提供个性化指导。每年的入学人数将限制在20名研究人员。大多数学员将处于其职业生涯的形成阶段（即，初级教员在他们的头四年或博士后研究员在他们的奖学金的最后一年），但该课程也将考虑希望进入或重新定向他们的努力，老龄研究领域的高级研究员。每位受训者在博士学位（医学博士，博士或DVM）之外，预计在生物学的某些方面至少有两年的生产实验室经验。为期五天的课程包括以下四项活动：(a)两次“概述”讲座，旨在向学员介绍生物老年学主要领域的背景、最新发现和主要未解决的问题；(b)每位学员有机会介绍他或她对一个研究项目的具体目标，该研究项目将由培训学院进行评论；(c)由主办机构或附近机构的知名教员举办研究研讨会，该研讨会将涵盖概述讲座中未涉及的主题或疾病方面。(d)对资助老龄化研究的拨款写作和机构（如NIA）的讨论。因此，暑期培训课程将为开展老年研究的初级研究人员提供现代老年学实验的坚实基础，并为开发老年研究新项目的高级科学家提供有用的视角。四名科学家将担任课程指导委员会，并负责选择学员和组织每年的课程：Arlan Richardson，课程主任/PI， Holly Van Remmen（联合主任/联合PI），他将在圣安东尼奥（德克萨斯州）主持课程，Judith Campisi（联合PI），他将在诺瓦托（加利福尼亚州）主持课程，Peter Rabinovitch（联合PI）将在西雅图（华盛顿州）主持课程。另外15名老龄研究人员将作为培训教员，每两到三年参加一次课程：Julie Anderson， Steve Austad, Nir Barzilai, Anne Bronikowski, Ana Maria Cuervo, John Disterhoft, michael Jazwinski, Matt Kaeberlein, James Kirkland, Richard Miller, Charlotte Peterson, Scott Pletcher, Thomas Rando， Jan Vijg和Zheng Hui。培训学院在老龄化研究方面拥有丰富的经验，在资助支持和审查研究资助方面有着良好的记录。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Funds are requested to continue a series of Summer Training Courses in Experimental Aging Research that will be held in June from 2013 through 2017. The five-day Course will be directed by Dr. Richardson at the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The course site will rotate among three host institutions: the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX, the Buck Institute for Age Research at Novato, CA, and the University of Washington at Seattle, WA. Similar courses have been held with great success every summer since 1993. The Course is designed to provide trainees with intensive exposure to modern research in experimental biogerontology and individualized guidance regarding the development of a research proposal. Each year's enrollment will be limited to 20 researchers. Most trainees will be in the formative stages of their careers (i.e., junior faculty in their firstfour years or postdoctoral fellows in the last year of their fellowship), but the Course also will consider senior investigators who wish to enter or redirect their efforts to an area of aging research. Each trainee is expected to have at least two years of productive laboratory experience in some aspect of biology beyond the doctoral degree (MD, PhD, or DVM). The five-day program will include the following four activities: (a) two "overview" lectures designed to introduce trainees to the context, latest findings, and main unanswered questions in major areas of biogerontology, (b) an opportunity for each trainee to present his or her Specific Aims for a research project that will be critiqued by the Training Faculty, (c) a research seminar presented by a prominent faculty member of the host or nearby institution, who will cover a topic or disease aspect not covered in the overview lectures, and (d) a discussion of grant writing and agencies (e.g., NIA) that fund research in aging. Thus, the Summer Training Course will provide junior researchers initiating research in aging with a solid foundation in modern experimental gerontology and provides a useful perspective to more senior scientists who are developing new programs in aging research. Four scientists will serve as the Course Steering Committee and will be responsible for selecting the trainees and organizing the Courses each year: Arlan Richardson, the Course Director/PI, Holly Van Remmen (Co-Director/Co-PI), who will host the Course at San Antonio (TX), Judith Campisi (Co-PI), who will host the Course at Novato (CA), and Peter Rabinovitch (Co-PI) who will host the Course at Seattle (WA). Fifteen other researchers in aging will serve as Training Faculty, attending the course every two or three years: Julie Anderson, Steve Austad, Nir Barzilai, Anne Bronikowski, Ana Maria Cuervo, John Disterhoft, Michal Jazwinski, Matt Kaeberlein, James Kirkland, Richard Miller, Charlotte Peterson, Scott Pletcher, Thomas Rando, Jan Vijg, and Hui Zheng. The Training Faculty have extensive experience in research in aging as well as a strong record of grant support and reviewing research grants.