Since 1998, the Training Program in Neural Repair at UCLA has enabled a collaborative effort of Faculty with broad expertise in neural repair to provide in depth training in this expanding area of Neuroscience. This application requests support to pursue this program with expanded emphasis on training in skills that are made necessary by the evolution of our field. Our trainees will be schooled not only in the basic principles of neural development and response to injury but also in teamwork, innovative technical approaches, and the challenges of translating this basic understanding into benefits for patients. The training program will continue to draw on the unique strength of a group of faculty actively engaged in basic and clinical research on various aspects of Neural Repair at UCLA. Mentors for the program include established and junior investigators with expertise in stem cell differentiation, cell death and neuroprotection, neural development, plasticity and restoration of function after injury to the central nervous system. They include basic and clinical scientists, many of whom bridge the gap between the laboratory and advances in therapies for neurodegenerative diseases and brain injury. All have vigorous research programs and an active commitment to graduate and post-doctoral education. Graduate students in the training program obtain their degree in the Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Neuroscience or one of the ACCESS biomedical graduate programs at UCLA. The curriculum includes training in broad areas of cellular, molecular and system neuroscience, specialized courses in Neural Repair, weekly meetings with other trainees and faculty, seminars from renowned investigators in the field, and exposure to clinical research linked to advances in the field of neural repair. The trainees are encouraged to explore areas at the junction of multiple fields, to use multiple technical approaches, and to engage in collaborations between laboratories. Our goal is to train a cadre of young investigators that are fully prepared for the changing culture of science while retaining a solid background in their main area of expertise. This training approach will benefit from a history of fruitful collaborations and interactions among the mentors in the program and will continue to produce a cadre of young investigators with the ability to respond to the challenges of reducing the burden of disability resulting from degeneration and disruption of the central nervous system.
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