This application seeks five years of funding for a training program in Stem Cell Biology &Regenerative Medicine to support six pre-doctoral trainees and two post-doctoral fellows with the aim of producing independent investigators capable of sustaining productive research programs in stem cell biology and use of stem cells / stem cell products in patient care. The program comprises 15 primary faculty preceptors from 10 departments (Molecular Genetics &Microbiology / Neuroscience / Pediatrics / Pathology, Immunology &Laboratory Medicine / Physiology and Functional Genomics / Medicine / Materials Science and Engineering / McKnight Brain Institute / Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation / UF Shands Cancer Center) within the Colleges of Medicine and Engineering at the University of Florida, Gainesville. The program faculty is a mix of basic and clinical scientists and is comprised of well-established and well-funded investigators that have received much national and international acclaim in stem cell biology, especially in the area of adult stem cells, spanning neural, hematopoeitic, endocrine, hepatobiliary and dermal stem cell biology. These investigators also have a strong history of student instruction. In addition to the primary Preceptors listed as Key Personnel, information is provided on a number of young investigators (Harfe, Cohn, Cogle and others) with very active and promising academic careers, whose participation will both extend and enrich the research areas covered by the Program. These investigators will be considered full Program members upon receipt of R01 or equivalent extramural funding. Pre-doctoral trainees will be recruited and initially trained in collaboration with the College of Medicine's Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Sciences (IDP). The pool of potential candidates averages 40-50 per year, and enroll at the University of Florida from throughout the USA. These pre-doctoral students average combined verbal and quantitative GRE scores of 1250 and GPAs of 3.5. The IDP provides comprehensive classroom training, introductory laboratory courses, laboratory rotations and advanced course work in specialized disciplines. Subsequent training focuses on independent laboratory research supplemented with program-specific activities stressing communicative skills. Pre-doctoral training requires approximately 5 years. While the first year of pre-doctoral support will come from the College of Medicine, it is anticipated that an average of 3 years of support will come from the training grant and the remainder of support from the mentor's research grant or other external sources. Post-doctoral trainees will be recruited nationally at both the Ph.D. and M.D. level. Training for post-doctoral fellows will focus almost exclusively on laboratory research, supplemented with seminars, journal clubs and selected course work, e.g., ethics. Post-doctoral training requires approximately 2-3 years, with a maximum of two years of support from the training grant.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 21 publications
