This proposal requests a second renewal of a highly successful T32 Institutional National Research Service Award to Indiana University, entitled Common Themes in Reproductive Diversity (CTRD). The award will support broadly integrative training in the areas of sexual reproduction and development. Training will focus on behavior in both humans and other animals and will address key questions in three related themes: (1) genetic, epigenetic, environmental, and parental contributions to reproductive and social behavior; (2) the origins and expression of differences among the sexes; and (3) sex and immunity in health and disease. Indiana University's excellent support for research and its globally recognized strengths in animal behavior, endocrinology, human sexual health, and evolution of development will ensure high quality training. The 20 Training Faculty and 3 Affiliated Resource Faculty are drawn from 5 departments (Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry, Gender Studies, Psychological and Brain Sciences) and 2 additional degree-granting programs (Program in Medical Sciences, Program in Neuroscience). They are also associated with 1 or more of 6 research centers, most importantly the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior (CISAB); the Kinsey Institute for Research on Sex, Gender and Reproduction; the Institute for Pheromone Research; and the Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics. Support is requested for five years to enable training of 4 pre-doctoral and 2 post-doctoral students each year to be drawn from a reliable pool of talented applicants. In addition to course work in the fundamentals and intensive research training, pre-doctoral trainees will participate in (1) a research-based course focused on Concepts in Reproductive Diversity, (2) an interdisciplinary, hands-on methods course, Techniques in Reproductive Diversity, and 3) a Research Ethics course, all co-taught by the training faculty and enhanced by a tradition of inviting distinguished visiting scientists to contribute to courses. Trainees will actively participate in a monthly breakfast research forum, will organize and present research at a highly successful and broadly attended conference, and will have additional opportunities and training to prepare them for more than one career outcome. Pre-doctoral trainees will be drawn from the most highly qualified applicants to the degree-granting programs of the Training Faculty. Post-doctoral trainees will be recruited nationally, will be chosen based on their accomplishments and the potential for CTRD training to broaden their skills and perspectives, and will be expected to foster research collaboration among CTRD trainees and laboratories. Intense effort will be made to enhance recruitment and retention of diverse trainees, to provide mentoring opportunities through a highly effective undergraduate program for underrepresented minorities, and to recruit and support individuals with disabilities or from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Understanding the sexual phenotype - or gender - has far reaching implications for human health and well- being. Trainee research on steroid hormones, maternal stress, changing environments, maternal and infant health, and healthy sexual behavior and reproduction, using human, non-human model systems, and evolutionarily diverse non-model systems will lead to insights into the basic mechanisms of reproduction and development and to understanding of the physiological differences between the sexes and their influence on illness and health outcomes, all of which will be valuable to policy makers, medical research, and health care.
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