This is a new application for a Training Program in the Neuroimmunoendocrine Effects of Alcohol at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine. An interdisciplinary group of nine well-funded basic scientists and clinicians with active research laboratories are studying the neurobiological, immune and endocrine responses to alcohol exposure. The training faculty hold primary appointments in the Departments of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy, Medicine (primarily Divisions of Endocrinology and Gastroenterology), and Surgery, are all active members of the Alcohol Research Program and hold graduate appointments in Ph.D. granting programs: 1) Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, & Anatomy, 2) Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry Program, and 3) Neuroscience Program. The Director of the Training grant will be Elizabeth J. Kovacs, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, & Anatomy, a cellular immunologist with an international reputation for her work on endocrine effects on immunity after alcohol exposure. She will be assisted by Associate Director, Mary Druse-Manteuffel, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, & Anatomy, who works on neuronal consequences of fetal alcohol syndrome, and an internal Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee, will be composed of senior faculty in the fields of cell biology, immunology, and neuroscience, who have extensive experience ill the administration training programs for pre-doctoral and post-doctoral fellows, but do not conduct alcohol research. This group, in conjunction with an Executive Committee, consisting of senior alcohol researchers, will oversee the Training Program. Pre-doctoral trainees will be selected from the pool of applicants applying to the Ph.D. programs in Cell Biology, Neurobiology, & Anatomy, Molecular & Cellular Biochemistry, and Neuroscience. These trainees will take courses in their respective graduate programs, including biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, immunology, neuroscience, etc., and will be instructed in oral and written communication through formal class work, seminars, and journal clubs. Post-doctoral trainees will spend a majority of their time in the laboratory of one of the members of the Training Program. All trainees will take a course in Ethics in Biomedical Sciences and, along with the Training Faculty, will attend Alcohol Research Program meetings. A plan to recruit trainees from under-represented minority backgrounds is included within the proposal. The commitment of the Training Faculty to excellence in research and teaching will insure the successful preparation of trainees for careers as academic scientists in the field of alcohol research.
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