A mentor group of 11 senior, mid-level and young investigators, including 4 new investigators, each with experience in research training and with active and competitive research programs, propose to continue a Research Training Program in Vision Science at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) for another 5 years. The request is for support for 5 pre-doctoral trainees annually. The goal remains to prepare trainees for careers in ocular and vision research. This requires that students have a broad, multidisciplinary appreciation of the major features of the visual system, a contemporary understanding of the diseases that impact vision, and state-of-the-art research skills and technologies for experimental work in the visual system. It also requires that trainees acquire the analytical and communication skills necessary to function in an increasingly collaborative research environment. The mentor group provides experience in multiple facets of the visual system, including fundamental photoreceptor biology, retinal circuitry and its development, and the molecular mechanisms of a wide spectrum of ocular diseases. Our research is at the forefront of development and application of impactful technology including CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR), non-invasive retinal imaging and ocular gene therapy. New features of the program in this renewal application include the addition of an External Advisory Committee, expansion of opportunities for interactions with the clinical enterprise and translational research emphasis, as well as an enhanced focus on innovative technologies, made possible by recent recruitments that increase MCW?s capabilities in these important areas. We are committed to training a diverse cadre of PhDs and our trainees are unquestionably prepared to lead successful careers in science. Our past record includes 33 pre-doctoral trainees, from which 7 hold faculty positions (5 in vision research), 5 developed successful non-academic scientific careers, 12 are in postdoctoral training and 8 are currently still in training. Pre-doctoral trainees will complete a core curriculum including courses in molecular genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, and neurobiology as well as completion of the required ?Instructional Program in the Responsible Conduct of Research? and The Biology of Vision as a prelude to conducting dissertation research under the mentorship of a member of the program faculty. All students will have the opportunity at the time they enter a mentor laboratory to enroll in the Basic and Translational Science program, which includes additional training in translational research as well as a requirement for at least one Specific Aim of the dissertation to be translational in nature. All trainees in mentor labs will also participate in a monthly Vision Science Forum, the Distinguished Lecture Series in Vision Science, and the annual Vision Science Student Symposia.
The goal of the project is to train a new generation of Vision Science researchers at the pre-doctoral level that are highly competent in the newest technologies and at the same time mindful of the important role of interdisciplinary, collaborative and translational research in major scientific advances. Our challenge is to expose them to the major problems that need to be solved in vision research while providing in depth training in the technologies essential for research.
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