The proposed program on Research Training in the Neuroscience of Aging will provide predoctoral students in Neuroscience with an integrated training experience in the laboratories of nationally and internationally recognized faculty. The predoctoral training program builds on an exciting, translationally relevant curriculum taught in years one and two of graduate school that has been awarded NIH support through the Jointly Sponsored Predoctoral Early Stage T32 Training Program mechanism (T32 MH087004). The proposed new training program would be the first at Mount Sinai to focus specifically on the neuroscience of aging and age- related neurodegenerative disease (primarily Alzheimer's disease), complementing Mount Sinai's historical concentration and strength in research in these areas. Outstanding training faculty in the proposed program share common research interests in the mechanisms of brain function in health and disease, employing a diversity of experimental approaches and working at levels of analysis ranging from molecular neurobiology to human neuropsychology and neuroimaging. The training program specifically encourages participation of faculty mentors whose research grants directly focus on aging neuroscience research, while not excluding those whose research expertise is critically important for the interdisciplinary training we seek to impart. Through their course work, predoctoral trainees will have received a solid foundation in basic neurobiology and the pathophysiology of neurological and psychiatric disease, as well as biostatistics and the responsible conduct of research. Advanced coursework includes a seminar course on the biology of aging as well as focused elective courses in specific areas of neuroscience. Selection of a research mentor is made in a collaborative environment that actively promotes multidisciplinary, integrative research. Research training will also have a `work in progress' component, to foster important interdisciplinary interactions, hone presentation skills, and improve awareness of ethical issues. Using this approach, the program on Research Training in the Neuroscience of Aging will provide predoctoral students with the guidance and experimental tools, in the laboratories of our training faculty, to launch successful, productive, independent careers in aging research.
We describe a training program that seeks to identify a group of highly talented predoctoral students to become the next generation of researchers in the neuroscience of aging who will provide significant advances in the understanding and treatment of age-related changes in brain function and age-related neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. Predoctoral students are offered a flexible, interdisciplinary program of course work, coupled with basic and/or translational research in the neuroscience of aging, to achieve these important goals that will contribute to improved public health.
