The premise of this proposal is that training the next generation of vision scientists in translation of basic science research to clinical and public health interventions will be critical toward advancing the field. Basic scientific and technological advances are occurring at an unprecedented pace. However, our observation has been that ophthalmologists often lack the background to understand how recent basic and clinical research findings may be applied to their practices, and visual scientists often lack adequate perspective to identify gaps in clinical knowledge to guide their research. This application proposes to renew a successful T32 translational vision research training program for students in pre-doctoral training programs in basic or applied science, or postdoctoral fellows at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). The overall goal is to prepare individuals for successful academic careers in vision science research through didactic education and intensive mentored research experience in a multidisciplinary environment. The vision research and training environment at OHSU is highly collaborative and interdisciplinary, with strong programmatic support in translation of research from bench to bedside in areas such as gene therapy, molecular genetics, drug development, clinical trials, ophthalmic imaging, and biomedical informatics. The university has top educational programs in clinical ophthalmology and basic visual science, and is consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally in NEI-supported research. This program fills an important gap in education because OHSU is one of the few major academic medical centers in the Pacific Northwest, yet there are no other programs to support didactic training in visual science research here. We will continue to leverage the existing infrastructure at OHSU to allow more pre- doctoral and post-doctoral trainees to benefit from and contribute toward this research and educational environment. Since 2013, we have supported 13 trainees (including 2 under-represented minorities and 3 women) who have published 60 peer-reviewed papers with their mentors in leading journals. Specifically, we propose to continue this T32 program for 3 pre-doctoral and 1 post-doctoral trainee, which will be integrated with ongoing research and existing OHSU graduate programs in basic science. Training consists of six key components: (1) research projects with mentors and collaborators, (2) a didactic course covering fundamentals of basic, clinical, and translational vision science, (3) twice-monthly vision research seminars for discussion of ongoing research by trainees and faculty, along with weekly half-day teaching sessions, (4) institution-wide education and career development activities, (5) a grant mentorship program to teach and support trainees as they apply for their own, independent funding and (6) training in responsible conduct of research. We believe this program will continue to provide a clinical perspective to trainees with existing backgrounds in basic science. OHSU is a setting where rigorous training in basic and clinical research through this T32 program will provide a generation of young researchers with the tools to optimize translational vision research.
Approximately 14 million Americans, or approximately 6% of people aged 12 years and older, are visually- impaired. This will become an increasing clinical and public health problem as the population ages, and surveys have shown that Americans fear blindness more than virtually any other health problem. Meanwhile, fundamental advances in science and technology have enormous promise for being applied to treatment of eye disease. The premise of this proposal is that training the next generation of vision scientists in basic, clinical, and translational research will be critical toward advancing the field.
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