This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The primary goal of the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Neuroscience (Neuroscience COBRE) has been to enhance the infrastructure of neuroscience research and graduate training across the University of Vermont (UVM) campus. During the past year, which represents the eighth year of funding, the Neuroscience COBRE continued to have two main aims: (1) to support the research and intellectual infrastructure of a University-wide Center for Neuroscience Excellence at UVM, and (2) to promote the research development of neuroscience faculty who will be the future leaders in the UVM Center for Neuroscience Excellence. Significant progress continues to be made in meeting these goals. The role of the Administrative Core is to provide both intellectual and administrative support for the Neuroscience COBRE. The Administrative Core oversees the mentoring program which provides critical guidance for our four COBRE-supported investigators: Drs. Miguel Martin-Caraballo from the Department of Biology, Alan Howe from the Department of Pharmacology, Jeffrey Spees from the Department of Medicine and Uma Wesley from the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. Faculty mentoring is a major emphasis of this program, and senior faculty members guide the research activities of each of these four COBRE-supported neuroscience investigators. The staff within the Administrative Core process purchase orders and salary distributions and provide ongoing financial analysis for all Project and Core Directors. The Administrative Core also supports new Neuroscience faculty hires. During this past year, Neuroscience COBRE funds were used to support the needs of two faculty members: Drs. Robert Althoff and Jom Hammack. Dr. Althoff, a new faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry, is developing a research program on the basic cognitive and autonomic processes underlying developmental psychopathology. COBRE funds allowed him to acquire equipment critically needed for analysis of eye movements in human subjects to support this work. COBRE funds were also expended to provide technical support for Dr. Hammack (Department of Psychology), a junior neuroscientist who was supported by recruitment funds during the initial COBRE award. The Neuroscience COBRE grant continues to support two multi-user research core facilities: the Cellular/Molecular Biology Core and Imaging/Physiology Core. These cores were established by the initial COBRE award to provide access to research tools critical to the work proposed in the four neuroscience faculty projects and to support research programs by many other UVM neuroscientists. This year, one focus of the annual review by the External Advisory Committee was an assessment of these two research Cores. Each of the Core Directors presented an overview of the Core, describing specialized equipment items, activities and usage patterns. The two External Review Committee members, Drs John Bixby and Steven Heinemann, who visited UVM this March (see below), enthusiastically supported the Core activities. In the accompanying report, they indicated the cores were very successful in supporting the COBRE investigators and many other UVM researchers, as measured by the increasing number of users. They also were supportive of the acquisition of additional equipment over the past few years to meet the needs of the user group. The Translational Core, a third core developed in year 2 of the initial funding period, facilitates interaction between basic and clinical neuroscientists. The Translational Core supports a didactic course, entitled Basic Science of Neurological Diseases, which is presented to graduate students, residents, and faculty. This past year, Core Co-Director Dr. Felix Eckenstein organized and administered the COBRE-supported Summer Neuroscience Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Nine undergraduate students participated in this ten-week research intense program with their stipends and lodging expenses paid by Translational Core funds. Three of the nine were underrepresented minority students. This past year over 160 undergraduate students applied for the program. The Administrative Core also supported a plenary Neuroscience lecture, which was presented by Dr. Lorna Role, Chair of the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. This presentation was part of the annual neuroscience retreat held January 23-24, 2009 and sponsored jointly by the Neuroscience COBRE and the local Vermont Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience. This retreat was organized to highlight neuroscience research accomplishments at UVM and consisted of oral and poster presentations by neuroscientists from departments across the UVM campus. The Administrative Core organized the Annual COBRE Review held March 8-10. The objectives and format of the annual review by the External Advisory Committee was somewhat different this year from that of prior years. There were two major goals of the review. The first objective was to review the progress and effectiveness of the two Neuroscience COBRE-supported research core facilities: the Cell/Molecular Core and Imaging/Physiology Core. The second goal was to evaluate the progress of the four COBRE-supported research project directors and provide input into whether each of the Project Directors should continue to receive COBRE support for the remaining two years of the grant. Two members of the External Advisory Committee (Drs. John Bixby, University of Miami Medical School and Steven Heinemann, Salk Institute) visited UVM this year. As part of their review, Drs Bixby and Heinemann evaluated the Cell/Molecular Core and Imaging/Physiology Core. The two research core directors, Mr. Todd Clason and Dr. Sheryl White, presented a detailed overview of core activities and accomplishments to Drs. Bixby and Heinemann and members of the Neuroscience COBRE Internal Advisory Board, COBRE project directors and their faculty mentors. This was a very constructive interaction with a number of good ideas generated about how to continue to strengthen core capabilities and increase usage. As part of the core review, Drs. Bixby and Heinemann toured both facilities to see the physical layout of each core. Drs. Bixby and Heinemann enthusiastically supported both core directors and felt that the cores provided critical research support to neuroscience as well as other investigators at UVM. On the afternoon of March 9, Drs. Bixby and Heinemann met sequentially for 2 hours with Dr. Alan Howe and Dr. Miguel Martin-Caraballo to review their progress and discuss Specific Aims for potential grant applications. The 2-hour time block allowed Drs. Howe and Martin-Caraballo to have an in depth discussion with the two external reviewers about their research programs. Both External Reviewers thought that this was an excellent format for the discussion. Based on information provided prior to the meeting (including copies of prior grants, study section critiques and manuscripts) and obtained in the discussion, they recommended that Dr. Martin-Caraballo receive 2 more years of COBRE support, but that Dr. Howe should receive only one year of support. Their decision was based on their concern about limited progress to date on the COBRE funded project and the high probability that the proposed studies will not generate sufficient new significant information after next year. Thus, they indicated it would be better for Dr. Howe to complete the work in progress, complete manuscripts related to these studies and then shift his emphasis back to his other ongoing, funded cancer-related projects (see External Advisory Committee Report). The other two members of the External Advisory Committee (Drs. William Mobley, Stanford University Medical School and Mahendra Rao, Vice President for Research, Invitrogen Corp.) did not visit UVM this time. Rather, they were sent copies of grant applications submitted last Fall by the two other COBRE Project Directors: Dr. Jeffrey Spees and Dr. Uma Wesley. They also were sent copies of the study section critiques of these applications. Unfortunately, neither grant was scored, but both Dr. Spees and Dr. Wesley have been encouraged to resubmit this Spring/Summer cycle. The input from Drs. Rao and Mobley has provided important insight into how these grants can be revised to meet the suggestions of the study section members. Both Dr. Spees and Wesley have made significant progress and will receive support for the 2 years remaining on the grant. A major accomplishment made during the first COBRE funding period was the development of a university-wide Neuroscience Doctoral Training Program. The current COBRE grant continues to support this multi-disciplinary graduate training program in Neuroscience as many of the participating faculty members are involved with the Neuroscience COBRE. Stipends for graduate students working in the laboratories of the four Project Directors are made available through COBRE funding. The training faculty is derived from multiple departments in many Colleges across the campus, creating a breadth of training opportunities that is truly diverse. We are currently finishing the third year of this program and both the number and quality of student applications to the program has increased markedly. Dr. Rae Nishi, a COBRE mentor and member of the Internal Advisory Board, continues in her role as Graduate Program Director.
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