We seek continued support for a pre- and post-doctoral training program in respiratory neurobiology. Our goal is to prepare trainees for independent careers in basic and applied biomedical research and teaching. A well-trained group of respiratory neurobiologists has important implications for human health;well-trained investigators are critical to advance our understanding of widespread and devastating disorders associated with ventilatory control, such as sleep disordered breathing, respiratory insufficiency during neurodegenerative disease (e.g. ALS) or spinal injury, mental retardation (e.g. Rhett Syndrome), or catastrophic ventilatory failure during development (e.g. SIDS). Four main research themes characterize our training program: 1) Cellular responses to hypoxia;2) Neuroplasticity in respiratory motor control;3) Neurobiology of sleep and sleep disordered breathing;and 4) Cardio-respiratory responses of humans and animal models to hypoxia, exercise and sleep. Each theme includes trainers working at multiple levels of biological organization. Common scientific foundations lend cohesiveness to the training program, which has a long track record of collaborative, multidisciplinary research and training. Key elements of the training program include: independent research conducted in a close working relationship with a faculty supervisor;cooperative, multidisciplinary mentoring;group interactions through lab meetings, seminars and an annual scientific retreat;and training in scientific speaking and writing. Pre-doctoral trainees are admitted to a graduate degree-granting program such as the Neuroscience, Physiology, Comparative Biomedical Science and/or the Cell and Molecular Biology graduate programs. The specific program is chosen based on trainee interests, and determines specific requirements such as coursework. Postdoctoral trainees enter directly into a research laboratory based on their interests, and focus on development as an independent investigator including firm foundations in research ethics and survival skills. Recent trainees have met with considerable success, with more than 80% of former trainees finding suitable positions in academics-many in tenured or tenure track faculty positions. We have also had success in minority recruitment (currently 50% of our available slots), and in the training of medically qualified scientists. Thus, we propose to continue a training program that meets important goals of the NIH research-training mission.
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