PRE-DOCTORAL TRAINING IN INTERDISCIPLINARY NEUROSCIENCE

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT This proposal requests continued funding of an established Neuroscience Graduate Training Program in the Institute for Neuroscience (INS) at the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin). This program is becoming a nationally-recognized center of excellence in neuroscience training with the creation of a new Department of Neuroscience, construction of the new Dell Medical School with Clay Johnston, a neuroscientist, as the inaugural Dean, and recruitment of outstanding Faculty. Faculty have appointments in Neuroscience, Neurology, Psychology, Psychiatry, Pharmacy, Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Molecular Bioscience, and Integrative Biology, and resolutely participate in 8 prestigious centers that are part of the INS, including the Center for Learning and Memory, Center for Perceptual Systems, Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, Dell Pediatric Research Institute, Behavioral Neuroscience, Imaging Research Center, and Computational Visualization Center. The program has particular strengths in the neuroscience of perceptual systems, learning and memory, and addiction research, and Faculty provide excellent training across levels of inquiry from molecules to biochemistry, structure, physiology, behavior, neuroethology, and evolution with advanced computation and theory at all levels. This breadth provides graduate students with extensive options for training in cross-disciplinary research, and the training Faculty have substantial funding to foster their research. We propose predoctoral funding for 4 new trainees and 4 second-year trainees (totaling 8 per year). The training program requirements include: a Boot Camp, laboratory research rotations, seminar presentations, 2 principles of neuroscience courses, a science/ethics course detailing responsible scientific conduct, a course in experimental design and statistics, and 4 electives including a neuroscience of disease course. They also participate in at least 1 specialized journal club related to their project. Students join a research lab by the summer of year 1, and complete coursework and qualifying exams, including oral defense of a review paper at the beginning of year 2. Our recruitment strategies have become even more successful as reflected in the quality and diversity of the applicants. The broad interdisciplinary training uniquely prepares our trainees for research success in neuroscience, which is crucial for advancements in the etiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of brain diseases. Furthermore, the founding of the Dell Medical School on the UT-Austin campus will greatly facilitate our translational neuroscience research.