Twenty-six scientists in the Visual Sciences Research Center at Case Western Reserve University seek to establish a Visual Sciences Training Program. The faculty comprise a multi-disciplinary vision sciences research community encompassing the Departments of Anatomy, Biochemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Genetics, Medicine, Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Neurology, Neurosciences, Ophthalmology, Pathology, and Pharmacology. Expansion of capabilities and productivity in the field of vision research has led to its selection as a priority in strategic planning at the Case Western Reserve University. The momentum behind the expansion of the NEI Core grant-supported Visual Sciences Research Center has produced a dramatic increase in the number of vision scientists and the extramural support for their research. This atmosphere affords an ideal training opportunity for vision scientists. The Visual Sciences Research Center, and collaborative research of its participating faculty, provides an overall framework for the Visual Sciences Training Program. In addition, as vision research has expanded at CVV`RU, there has been a natural evolution of five research training groups that have distinct identities but also considerable overlap among participants. This Institutional Training Grant application is organized around the five thematic groups: (a) Ocular Development, (b) Ocular Motility, (c) Ocular Consequences of Diabetes, (d) Ocular Immunology, and (e) Translational Research. Support is requested for four predoctoral student positions in the first year, increasing to six in later years. Two postdoctoral positions are requested in all years. The demands of our program will be such that only students of the highest potential will be admitted. Students will receive training in department-specific, vision research theme-specific, and laboratory-based settings. Collectively, this approach will ensure that our trainees will be able to pose biologically and clinically relevant questions without being restricted by either discipline or methodology. The training program is supported by the resources of the twenty-six vision scientists, the Core modules of the Visual Science Research Center, and the broader resources of Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland.
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