The purpose of this program is to provide postdoctoral trainees in the biological sciences with training in basic research on aging. The program will also support the short-term training of medical students in this area. The postdoctoral program emphasizes preceptor style research training in one or more laboratories of the training faculty over a two- year period; for medical students, the training period is primarily during the first two summers of their medical school education. Research project opportunities include: cell cycle kinetics and dynamics; regulation of gene expression in aging; identification of senescence-specific genes; aging and endothelial cell physiology; transformation and immortalization of cells; cardiovascular physiology/pharmacology during aging; and neuroendocrine function. All training program faculty have current research grants from the NIA. All are experienced in the biology of aging. Each postdoctoral trainee rotates for short periods (approximately two weeks) through one or more laboratories before choosing a long-term research project in one laboratory. Medical students elect to work with a mentor whose research is of interest, and are selected based on the quality of the proposed project and their motivation. Research training is supplemented by attending the Biology of Aging course at MCP/HU, individual meetings of students with faculty, and especially the bimonthly meetings of the entire group of faculty and trainees. Seven postdoctoral and seven medical student trainees per year are selected from a highly qualified pool of candidates recruited through advertisements in professional journals and by personal contacts. They receive training in basic research plus extensive training in the lore and methods of aging research, including the special knowledge required for the use of various models to study aging. We anticipate that all postdoctoral trainees will pursue a research career upon completing the program; for medical students, our primary goal is to teach the techniques and strategies of research on aging. The major training facilities will be at (1) the Medical College of Pennsylvania/Hahnemann University, (2) Thomas Jefferson University, (3) the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and (4) the Wistar Institute. The process of aging provides the vulnerability for the devastating diseases associated with aging. Very little is known about the mechanisms of aging; a well-trained cadre of researchers is necessary if we are to eventually understand the aging process and its associated diseases and disabilities. This training program addresses that need.
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