A major goal of the RCMI proposal is to establish a Cajal Neuroscience Research Center (CNRC) at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) to facilitate neuroscience research at UTSA by strengthening the research environment. Ramon y Cajal was the Spanish neuroanatomist awarded the Nobel Prize in 1906 for setting forth the """"""""neuron doctrine."""""""" A second goal of the CNRC is to facilitate neuroscience research in the city of San Antonio and South Texas by establishing collaborations with scientists at nearby institutions including but not limited to the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, the Institute for Biotechnology, and Brooks Air Force Base. Because UTSA and South Texas have a high proportion of minorities it is expected that the contribution of minorities to neuroscience research will be increased through activities funded by the RCMI. Through an administrative center located in the Bioscience Building the RCMI through the CNRC will facilitate neuroscience research at UTSA by: 1) hiring one senior and one junior faculty in the area of computational neuroscience, and two junior faculty in the area of molecular and cellular neurobiology. The hiring of a senior person in neurocomputation will give instant visibility to UTSA's development in this area. 2) developing a core facility that will support; a) neurocomputation and visualization, b) neurocircuit design and fabrication, c) molecular research through DNA sequencing and oligonucleotide synthesis, d) enhance UTSA's capability for transmission electron microscopy, and e) supporting developmental research projects for UTSA faculty. A final goal of the CNRC is to organize a year long Neuroscience Seminar to inform neuroscientists at UTSA and in the above listed organizations of the latest findings in the field. An External Advisory Committee composed of expects in the field of neuroscience and others knowledgeable about the RCMI and minority institutions will advise the PI and Co-Directors on all matters related to the functioning of the CNRC. Members of the External Advisory Committee will also function as mentors to the developmental faculty and will participate in the Neuroscience Symposium.
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