A group of muscle biology researchers at the University of Minnesota proposes to establish an interdisciplinary training program for predoctoral and postdoctoral scientists. The training group consists of 14 faculty from 8 departments in the Academic Health Center. Based on seed money from the University over the past three years, these researchers, who are based in both basic science and clinical departments, have already begun working closely together to develop this program. Primary emphasis is placed on training scientists to use the most powerful methods in basic science research, applied to problems in the molecular physiology and pathology of muscle. Graduate students will be trained in one of two graduate programs, (1) Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics and (2) Neuroscience. The academic focus of the program, for both predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees, will be a 1-semester course entitled Muscle, which has been recently developed and taught by the training faculty and is cross-listed in both graduate programs. This course, like the rest of the training program, seeks to balance rigorous basic research with exciting clinical applications. The program will focus on six key muscle research themes in which Minnesota plays a leading role: (1) contractile proteins, (2) calcium regulation and malignant hyperthemia, (3) aging, (4) genetics of muscle membrane disorders, (5) ocular muscles, and (6) metabolism. Trainees will be encouraged to interact with both basic and clinical researchers, and to study both normal and diseased muscle. Recognizing the synergy produced by groups of researchers at different levels of training, support will be provided for both predoctoral and postdoctoral researchers. After a gradual startup period of two years, the program will support 6 predoctoral and 4 postdoctoral trainees each year. Program faculty will work closely with the two graduate programs to recruit outstanding students and postdocs who are attracted by the challenging array of interdisciplinary training opportunities in muscle research. The primary goal of the program is to help these exceptional young scientists develop the intellectual and technical tools needed for productive careers as independent investigators and educators in muscle research.
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