Interdisciplinary Training Program in Hearing Research

描述(由申请人提供)：在理解听力机制和治疗听力障碍方面取得进展，需要听力研究领域内多个学科的综合努力。加州大学欧文分校(UCI)听力研究中心(CHR)将开展一项跨学科培训计划，该计划将利用UCI听力研究的广度和深度来培训跨多个学科的新科学家，以及深入其中一个学科。CHR的18名培训人员跨越五个学院(生物科学、工程、医学、物理科学和社会科学)的九个系，研究兴趣涵盖广泛的层面(基因、分子、细胞、系统、行为)和实验方法(细胞和分子生物学、神经生理学、心理声学、计算、人体成像)。因此，CHR有能力提供跨学科的培训。我们请求支持四名博士后学生和四名博士后研究人员，其中包括耳鼻喉科和神经病学的住院医生。培训计划的教学核心是一门听神经科学课程，涵盖从细胞到心理声学、从耳蜗到皮质的听觉系统，以及基础和临床方面。鼓励跨学科互动的培训计划的强制性特征是参与CHR活动(CHR的任务是促进跨学科研究)，要求自己以外的学科学习，以及基础和临床科学家之间的定期会议。正常情况下，博士后和博士后实习生的支持期为两年(住院医生为一年)。博士前实习生通常在研究生学习的第二年进入该项目，并被要求参加一门关于拨款撰写的课程，并提交一份NRSA提案，以成功完成该项目。该计划由计划主任和执行委员会管理，将培养受训人员在跨学科听力研究领域取得成功所需的智力、技术和专业技能。 与公共健康相关：要充分了解我们是如何听力的，并为听力障碍设计有效的治疗方法，需要多学科的知识，如生物学、医学和工程学。该计划将把初级科学家培养成一个学科的专家，并熟悉几个学科，使他们能够将多个学科的工具和技术集中在要解决的问题上。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Progress towards understanding mechanisms of hearing, and the treatment of hearing deficits, requires an integrated effort from multiple disciplines within the field of hearing research. The Center for Hearing Research (CHR) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) will mount an interdisciplinary training program that will take advantage of the breadth and depth of hearing research at UCI to train new scientists broadly across multiple disciplines, as well as deeply in one. The 18 training faculty in CHR span nine departments in five Schools (Biological Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences) with research interests that cover a broad range of levels (genes, molecules, cells, systems, behavior) and experimental approaches (cellular and molecular biology, neurophysiology, psychoacoustics, computation, human imaging). Thus, CHR is well-positioned to offer interdisciplinary training. We request support for four predoctoral students and four postdoctoral researchers including medical residents from Otolaryngology and Neurology. The didactic core of the training program is a course in Auditory Neuroscience, which covers the auditory system from cells to psychoacoustics, the cochlea to the cortex, and both basic and clinical aspects. Mandatory features of the training program that encourage interdisciplinary interactions are participation in CHR activities (CHR's mandate is to promote interdisciplinary research), required study of a discipline outside one's own, and regular meetings among basic and clinical scientists. The normal period of support is two years for both pre- and post-doctoral trainees (one year for residents). Predoctoral trainees normally enter the program in their second year of graduate study, and are required to take a course on grant writing and submit an NRSA proposal to successfully complete the program. The program is managed by the Program Director and an Executive Committee, and will foster trainees' intellectual, technical and professional skills needed to pursue successful careers in interdisciplinary hearing research. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: To fully understand how we hear, and design effective treatments for hearing deficits, requires knowledge of multiple disciplines, such as biology, medicine and engineering. This program will train junior scientists to be experts in one discipline and familiar with several, so that they are able to focus the tools and techniques of multiple disciplines on the problems to be solved.