This proposal requests support for 18 trainees (ramping up to 20 in years 3-5) to continue a multidisciplinary program of predoctoral training in neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley. Under the auspices of the Wills Neuroscience Institute, the goal of the training program is to educate and mentor graduate students in neuroscience, and to train them to become tomorrow's leaders as research scientists and teachers. The 39 participating faculty are drawn from across the entire Berkeley campus and represent neuroscience research from molecules and genes, to cells and circuits, systems and computation, and behavior and cognition. Training faculty include members of the Departments of Molecular and Cell Biology (including the Divisions of Neurobiology, Cell and Developmental Biology, and Genetics), Psychology, Vision Science, Physics, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, and Integrative Biology. Students can be admitted to the program either directly through the Neuroscience Ph.D. program, or through the Ph.D. programs of participating departments. The Wills Neuroscience Institute was created with the vision of training neuroscience graduate students in an interactive environment that builds bridges across traditional academic boundaries to span from genes and molecules to brain and behavior. The program exposes students to collaborations between physical scientists and neuroscientists aimed at technology innovation to fuel paradigm shifts in how we study the brain. The program encourages students to focus on the potential therapeutic applications of their research by translating discoveries in the neurosciences from basic research to human health. The program is designed to provide training across the entire range of neuroscience through required and elective course work and lab experience. During year one, students are exposed to the entire field in a survey course, and spend three consecutive 10-week periods rotating through different laboratories of their choice across the campus. Students also attend evening presentations by faculty members describing their research, the annual Neuroscience Program Retreat, the weekly Neuroscience Seminar Series, journal clubs, and lab meetings. At the end of the third rotation, students select a laboratory in which to conduct their thesis research. During year two, students begin to concentrate on their research; they also take lecture/seminar courses and begin to acquire teaching experience by serving as a teaching assistant. At the end of the second year, students take their oral qualifying examinations. In years three to five, students concentrate on their research projects and take advanced seminar courses. Applicants to the program typically have outstanding undergraduate records in the biological sciences, physical sciences, or psychology. Admission is based on evaluation of previous scholastic achievement, prior research performance, scores on GRE tests, statement of purpose, and letters of recommendation. Only the very best candidates are accepted. The Berkeley Neuroscience program has an excellent record at recruiting top students; for example, 20% of the neuroscience trainees receive their own competitive fellowships from HHMI or NSF. The program also has an excellent record of training these students; over the past 10 years, nearly all of the trainees have gone on to productive careers in biomedical research.
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