Purpose and Program Characteristics: This is a Continuation Grant for a program that has successfully trained graduate students in the fields of molecular and cellular endocrinology, neuroendocrinology, and neurobiology for the past 15 years. The strength of the program is the outstanding core faculty and the unusually rich research environment provided by the University of California, San Diego, the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences, and the Scripps Research Institute. The faculty are all internationally recognized for their research accomplishments and have long records of training graduate students who have gone on to a very productive careers. Thus far, we have 11 graduates of this program who have academic positions as independent investigators in outstanding academic institutions, and 4 who are investigators in biotech companies, with others currently at the end of their postdoctoral training period. This program is interdisciplinary, involving faculty from UCSD's School of Medicine, and the UCSD's Department and Divisions of Endocrinology, Physiology, Pharmacology, Cellular and Molecular Medicine, and Chemistry, as well as Gene Expression, Neural Systems, and the Peptide Biology Laboratories at the Salk Institute. Graduate students will learn modern research approaches, concepts and techniques applicable to molecular, cell biology, genomics, genetics and biochemistry, and will acquire a broad background of the literature and basic science of these fields. Formal courses, hands-on laboratory experience, and intensive interaction with program faculty will also prepare trainees for teaching in this discipline. We hope to be permitted the opportunity to continue this highly successful predoctoral training grant. Trainees: Eight students per year, with bachelor degrees in biology or chemistry, will be admitted to the Ph.D. program. They will be selected from about 100 applicants on the basis of point average, GRE scores, and interviews with faculty and advanced graduate students. All successful applicants are expected to have strong backgrounds in cell biology and biochemistry. Graduate students will be directed toward careers in molecular endocrinology, neuroendocrinology, or neurobiology research and encouraged to develop skills in writing, teaching and oral presentation.
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