Training in Developmental Biology, Stem Cells and Regeneration

这份申请是为了续订发育生物学博士前培训计划的第三个周期， 干细胞和再生在南加州大学(USC)。这一培训计划既有 受益于干细胞生物学和再生医学研究的显著增长并做出了贡献 在南加州大学凯克医学院。有一个专门的干细胞生物学和 再生医学一直在积极招聘新教师，一个非常成功的博士项目在 发育、干细胞和再生(DSR)，现在平均每年有大约15名新入学学生，以及 整个大学范围内的南加州大学干细胞计划为学生提供了一个充满活力的理想训练环境。 该培训计划旨在提供发育和干细胞生物学方面的连贯、有条理的培训， 再加上针对培训拨款的课程和活动，深入了解临床问题和 先进生物信息学。这样的计划将最好地培养希望应用他们的 将发育和干细胞生物学的基础研究扩展到再生医学领域。独一无二的 这一培训计划的优势在于，它以临床的形式提供了超越DSR计划的附加值 曝光。每个实习生都有一名临床辅导员，指导学生学习疾病 他们的主要研究与之相关。学员参加由临床科学家指导的针对T32的研讨会课程，如 以及南加州大学新的GMP设施的动手车间，让学生接触临床级产品的制造 干细胞和基因治疗试剂。让学生了解干细胞如何解决未满足的临床问题 需求得益于南加州大学与美国最大的公立医院之一的密切联系，以及广泛的 临床医生-科学家参与培训计划的各个方面。最近，我们还与 数量和计算生物学系提供专门的计算生物学培训， 直接回应受训人员的反馈。在前四年的培训计划中，这16人资助了 学员在《细胞干细胞》、《发育细胞》、《PNAS》、《神经元》、《 和PLoS生物学，并获得了四个NIH F31奖学金。在T32成立以来的30名学员中，有16名 已毕业，13人仍在接受培训。所有毕业生都留在了科学密集型岗位上，有7 从事博士后工作，6人进入行业，3人从事科学政策和新闻工作，1人最近接受了 加州大学洛杉矶分校终身教职助理教授。从第一个资助期到第二个资助期，我们增加了 我们项目的多样性(12.5%到25%URM)，NIH F31的成功(2到4)，以及 主要的DSR喂养计划(每年~6~15岁)，同时减少到学位的时间(6.5~5.1年)。学生们 每年都主办一次重要的研讨会，包括几乎在大流行期间，我们制定了一个 截至2019年的隔夜年度务虚会。该培训计划的衔接结构提供了额外级别的 临床流畅性，否则受训者无法仅通过DSR Feedder计划获得。

This application is for renewal for a third cycle of a Predoctoral Training Program in Developmental Biology, Stem Cells, and Regeneration at the University of Southern California (USC). This training program has both benefitted from and contributed to the dramatic growth of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine research at USC Keck School of Medicine. The presence of a dedicated Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine that has been actively recruiting new faculty, a highly successful PhD Program in Development, Stem Cells, and Regeneration (DSR) that now averages ~15 new entering students per year, and a university-wide USC Stem Cell initiative makes for a highly dynamic, ideal training environment for students. The training program is designed to provide cohesive, structured training in developmental and stem cell biology, coupled with training-grant-specific courses and activities that provide in-depth exposure to clinical problems and advanced bioinformatics. Such a program will best train a future generation of scientists that wish to apply their foundational research in developmental and stem cell biology to the field of regenerative medicine. A unique strength of this training program is that it provides added value, beyond the DSR program, in the form of clinical exposure. Each trainee is paired with a Clinical Co-Mentor, who guides the student in learning about the diseases to which their primary research relates. Trainees take a T32-specific seminar class led by clinician scientists, as well as a hands-on workshop in USC’s new GMP facility that exposes students to manufacturing of clinical-grade stem cells and gene therapy reagents. This exposure of students to how stem cells can address unmet clinical needs is aided by close ties of USC with one of the largest public hospitals in the country, and the extensive participation of clinician-scientists in all aspects of the training program. Recently, we have also partnered with the Department of Quantitative and Computational Biology to offer specialized computational biology training, in direct response to feedback from trainees. During the previous four years of the training program, the 16 funded trainees have published 30 manuscripts in journals such as Cell Stem Cell, Developmental Cell, PNAS, Neuron, and PLoS Biology, and have received four NIH F31 fellowships. Of the 30 trainees since T32 inception, 16 have graduated and 13 remain in training. All graduates have remained in science-intensive positions, with 7 performing postdocs, 6 entering industry, 3 pursuing science policy and journalism, and 1 recently accepting a tenure-track assistant professorship at UCLA. From the first to second funding period, we have increased diversity in our program (12.5% to 25% URM), success of NIH F31s (2 to 4), and the number of students in the main DSR feeder program (~6 to ~15 per year), while decreasing time to degree (6.5 to 5.1 years). The students have hosted a major symposium each year, including virtually during the pandemic, and we have instituted an overnight Annual Retreat as of 2019. The cohesive structure of this training program provides an extra level of clinical fluency that the trainees would not otherwise have obtained through the DSR feeder program alone.