This proposal requests continued funding of an established Neuroscience Graduate Training Program in the Institute for Neuroscience (INS) at the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin). This program is becoming a nationally recognized center of excellence in neuroscience training with the creation of a new Department of Neuroscience, construction of the new Dell Medical School with Clay Johnston, a neuroscientist, as the inaugural Dean, and recruitment of outstanding Faculty. Faculty have appointments in Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, Kinesiology, Communication Sciences and Disorders, and Nutrition and resolutely participate in 8 prestigious centers that are part of the INS, including the Center for Learning and Memory, Center for Perceptual Systems, Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, Dell Pediatric Research Institute, Behavioral Neuroscience, Imaging Research Center, and Computational Visualization Center. The program has particular strengths in the neuroscience of perceptual systems, learning and memory, and addiction research, and Faculty provide excellent training across levels of inquiry from molecules to biochemistry, structure, physiology, behavior, neuroethology, and evolution with advanced computation and theory at all levels. This breadth provides graduate students with extensive options for training in cross-disciplinary research, and the training Faculty have substantial funding to foster their research. We propose predoctoral funding for 4 new trainees and 4 second-year trainees (totaling 8 per year). The training program requirements include: a new Boot Camp and laboratory research rotations and seminar presentations, 2 principles of neuroscience courses, a science/ethics course detailing responsible scientific conduct, a course in experimental design and statistics, and 4 electives including a neuroscience of disease course. Students must also complete at least 1 semester of a graduate level course directed by an INS Faculty member that is associated with the neuroscience seminar series, where students present papers from the speaker's work and personally discuss research with the speaker. They also participate in at least 1 specialized journal club related to their project. Students join a research lab by the beginning of year 2 and complete coursework and qualifying exams, including oral defense of their research proposal written in NIH grant format by the end of year 2. Our recruitment strategies have become even more successful as reflected in the quality and diversity of the applicants. The broad interdisciplinary training uniquely prepares our trainees for research success in neuroscience, which is crucial for advancements in the etiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of brain diseases. Furthermore, the founding of the Dell Medical School on the UT-Austin campus will greatly facilitate our translational neuroscience research.
The major health problems in the US result from brain diseases, including Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, alcoholism, drug addiction, depression and bipolar disorders. Incomplete understanding of the neuroscience of these conditions accounts for the limited number of effective treatments. The goal of this proposal is to provide state-of-the-art training for the next generation of neuroscientists who are equipped to solve these health problems.
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