This proposal requests support or 15 trainees to continue a multidisciplinary program o predoctoral training in neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley. The goal of the training program is to teach graduate students to become productive research scientists and teachers across the broad disciplines of neuroscience. The 36 participating faculty are drawn from across the entire Berkeley campus and represent neuroscience research from the molecular and cellular, to neural systems, computation, and cognition. Participating departments include the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology (including the Divisions of Neurobiology, Cell and Developmental Biology, Genetics, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), Psychology, Vision Science Optometry, chemistry, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Environmental Science. Students can be admitted to the program through the Ph.D. programs of any of the participating departments. The program is designed to provide training across the entire range of neuroscience through required course work and lab experience. During year 01, students are exposed to the entire field in a survey course, and are required to spend 3 consecutive 10 week periods rotating through different laboratories of their choice across the campus. Students also attend presentations by faculty members describing research opportunities, the annual Neuroscience Program Retreat, and the weekly Neuroscience Seminar Series. At the end of the third rotation, students select a laboratory in which to conduct their thesis research. During year 02, students begin to concentrate on their research; they also take lecture/seminar courses and begin to acquire teaching experience by serving as a teaching assistant. At the end of the second year, students take their oral qualifying exams. In years 3-5, students concentrate on their research projects, continue to teach and take advanced seminar courses in areas of relevance to their thesis topic. Applicants to the program typically have outstanding undergraduate records in the biological, chemical or physical sciences. Admission is based on evaluation of previous scholastic achievement, prior research performance, scores on GRE tests, statement of purpose and letters of recommendation. Only candidates in the top 20% are accepted. The training record of this program over the past 10 years indicates that almost 95% of the trainees have one on to productive careers in biomedical research.
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