The current competitive renewal requests funds to support the training of 5 predoctoral trainees and 3 postdoctoral trainees each year for the next 5 year training period. There are 13 faculty that form the primary mentors in this program with 4 affiliated faculty. The goal of this program is to train predoctoral students and postdoctoral fellows for a research career in the psychology of aging. The focus of the faculty research combines three interrelated areas: cognitive changes in healthy older adults and in early stages of Alzheimer's disease, neuroimaging of healthy and disease-related neural systems, and more applied methods to modulate the age-related trajectory of cognitive decline and minimize the interpersonal consequences of cognitive loss. Washington University affords a rich environment for this training due its long-standing history in the study of aging and Alzheimer's disease, strong collaborative relationships with the Washington University School of Medicine, and its internationally recognized expertise in cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging. Predoctoral trainees will enter the training program through the graduate program in the Department of Psychology. Trainee progress is monitored throughout the training period via semester reviews of student portfolios by the Program Director and Executive Committee of the Aging and Development Program. Postdoctoral trainees are recruited following completion of their Ph.D. based on their interest to either further hone their existing interest in aging research or develop research expertise in the area of aging. Postdoctoral training is highly individualized and specialized. Training takes place primarily in the faculty laboratories in the Department of Psychology, with additional training occurring at the Psychological Service Center, the Neuroimaging facilities within the Department of Psychology and Medical School, and the Charles F. and Joanna Knight Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.
The focus of this Training Grant is on the development of the next wave of research oriented psychologists to meet the increasing demands of an aging population. Trainees focus on cutting edge mechanistic work in cognitive neuroscience, Alzheimer's disease, and in minimizing the deleterious effects associated with aging. The highly interactive group of mentors brings together considerable expertise across multiple domains in aging, along with a strong track record in graduate and postdoctoral training.
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