The Interdisciplinary Vision Training Program (VTP) at Brown University trains graduate students to become leaders in vision research. The goal is to train students in research and give them essential career skills, while also familiarizing them with vision disorders and their treatment, so that their future research will factor in public health needs. Students are admitted into either the interdepartmental Neuroscience Graduate Program or the graduate program in the Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences. In these graduate programs, students take required and elective coursework to build a solid scientific foundation. By the second graduate year, students settle on a research lab and they have acquired the necessary scientific knowledge to conduct their dissertation research. At that stage, graduate students pursuing vision research in one of the preceptors' labs are encouraged to apply for the Vision Training Program. Students are selected based on their potential for a successful and productive vision research career. Students are generally admitted to the Vision Training Program in their 2nd or 3rd year, with 3 graduate students participating at a time. The program lasts 2-3 years so that students experience the full range of training activities. Once admitted to the VTP, trainees receive specialized training and experiences aimed at strengthening and broadening their understanding and abilities in vision research. The core of the vision program is the laboratory research training they receive. Research conducted in the preceptors' labs investigates a wide range of topics including retinal structure and function, development of the visual system, visual processing in the brain, visual perception and learning, computational models of vision, and visually-guided behavior. A key part of the program is a group of activities through which the students learn about visual disease and disorders so that they can appreciate the public health needs. Through regular interactions with the Department of Ophthalmology, students learn the vocabulary and procedures used by ophthalmologists and neuro-ophthalmologists. Trainees also observe eye surgeries and visual assessment as conducted in the vision clinic. At all stages, students learn essential skills for a successful independent research career in vision research. These include critical thinking and reasoning, effective science writing and oral presentation, knowledge of the scientific review processes, and training in ethics. To ensure a successful training program, we have selected a broad training faculty with productive track records and experience training students; a couple are relatively junior but are highly active in research and student training and they show great promise as research mentors. In addition to the preceptors in the vision training program, there is a rich intellectual environment at Brown. The Institute for Brain Sciences has over 130 faculty. The Center for Vision Research consists of 40 faculty sharing interests in vision research ranging from molecular biology to artificial systems to philosophy.
Eye disease and visual disorders are common and debilitating and their treatment requires advances in our understanding of vision, eye, and brain. Brown's Interdisciplinary Vision Training Program prepares predoctoral students to be leaders in vision research through a combination of rigorous coursework, cutting-edge research, and practical career skills. Students are familiarized with vision disorders and their treatment so that their future research may best address public health needs.
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