Training in the Neurobiology of Neurological Disease

描述（由申请人提供）：本提案要求资助一个新的博士后培训项目，题为“神经系统疾病的神经生物学培训”。简而言之，该计划有5个主要目标：1)培养对与我们的学员的研究事业高度相关的疾病和综合征的理解；2)确保受训者在他们的研究中得到适当的指导，并获得在神经科学领域独立职业所需的专业技能；3)提供创新研究的机会；4)吸引未被充分代表的少数民族参加神经科学博士后培训；5)支持对“特殊情况”的培训，即那些需求与典型培训人员不同的个人。这些特殊情况可能包括具有计算机背景的个人，他们现在正在寻求生物学培训，也可能包括从事需要长时间和努力才能完成的项目的年轻科学家。我们的建议包括一个为期两年的疾病神经生物学课程。该课程积极涉及学术临床医生及其患者，涵盖与基础和转化神经科学家相关的所有疾病和综合征。我们还为受训者提供两步“专业发展系列”，以满足神经科学早期和后期博士后的具体需求。专业发展系列包括从撰写拨款到探索工作机会和建立第一个实验室的主题。学员将

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal requests funding for a new postdoctoral training program entitled, "Training in the Neurobiology of Neurological Disease." Briefly, the program has 5 primary goals: 1) To foster understanding of the diseases and syndromes that are of high relevance to the research careers of our trainees; 2) To ensure that trainees are appropriately mentored in their research and that they acquire the professional skills necessary for independent careers in neuroscience; 3) To afford opportunities for innovative research; 4) To attract under-represented minorities to postdoctoral training in neuroscience, and 5) To support training of "special cases" - individuals whose needs differ from those of the typical training fellow. These special cases may include individuals with computational backgrounds who now seek biological training, as well as young scientists who take on projects that require extended time and effort for completion. Our proposal includes a two-year course on the Neurobiology of Disease. The course actively involves academic clinicians and their patients to cover the full spectrum of diseases and syndromes that are of relevance to basic and translational neuroscientists. We also provide trainees with a two-step "Professional Development Series" that is tailored to the specific needs of early- and late-phase postdoctoral fellows in neuroscience. The professional development series includes topics ranging from grant writing to exploring job opportunities and setting up a first lab. Trainees will also be provided with the opportunity to take additional courses, as needed, to fill in gaps in ther background. At the core of every postdoctoral experience is mentored research in an accomplished laboratory. To oversee this experience we have devised a mentoring program that includes regular review of both the trainee and the mentor. Each trainee will have a primary research adviser as well as an individualized Research Advisory Committee. This arrangement will be especially helpful to Early Stage Investigators who will have trainees in their laboratorie for the first time. Our rich neuroscience environment includes 44 primary training scientists and 12 junior faculties specific to this T32. Currently this core training faculty supervises more than 75 postdoctoral trainees (in addition to a substantial number of pre-doctoral students). Nearly 50 of these trainees are eligible for NRSA and/or T32 support. Our neuroscience community includes a broad range of neuroscientists in multiple basic science and clinical departments at the University of Pittsburgh, as well as basic scientists in departments at our sister institution, Carnegie Mellon University. Thus, we believe that the quality and breadth of our faculty, the state-of-the-art facilities, and the unique nature of our training program will enable us to attrac outstanding postdoctoral trainees and provide them with a special experience.