This program has been training M.D. and Ph.D. investigators to pursue careers in mental health related research for over two decades. Clinical researchers and those working in the laboratory on animal models in the basic sciences are united by a common interest in the interplay of psychological and biological processes, especially during early development, as these contribute to increased understanding of clinical disease. We emphasize training in an analytic experimental approach to elucidate the processes and mechanisms underlying the development of abnormal neural functioning and behavior. Specific areas of research interests of the 24 sponsoring faculty include: developmental neuroscience, chronobiology, perinatal physiology and behavior, psychosexual differentiation, anxiety disorders, brain imaging, psychopharmacology of pain systems, attachment and separation, epidemiology of psychiatric disorders, behavioral medicine, and genetic models of abnormal brain function. Training focuses primarily on conducting research designed by the fellow with guidance from faculty mentors. This hands-on research training is supplemented with 1) a weekly seminar in which the processes of research are intensively discussed with a core group of sponsoring faculty, and 2) personalized didactic study programs consisting of courses in statistics, lectures from medical school courses and a rich variety of seminars and rounds in psychiatry and neuroscience. The goal of the program is to promote the development of successful independent researchers. Toward this end, all fellows receive instruction in how to design and write competitive grant proposals. Funds are requested for six postdoctoral trainees. M.D.s are usually psychiatric residents with several years of postdoctoral experience. Ph.D.s usually begin their training with a year or two following completion of graduate training. Selection is based on the applicant's potential for original and creative research, and on their motivation and perseverance required to complete 2-3 years of intensive research training. Creative self-starters with their own ideas are sought and then carefully matched with faculty mentors who can best guide this research.
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