This proposal requests continuation of a successful predoctoral Genetics Training Program on the La Jolla mesa, including the UCSD School of Medicine, the UCSD Division of Biological Sciences and The Salk Institute for Biological Studies. The goal of this program is to train graduate students for careers as academic or industrial scientists studying genetics phenomena or using the methods and logic of genetics to understand biological problems important to human health. Our training faculty have united across neighboring campuses and institutions to enact a shared vision of contemporary and cutting edge Genetics and Genomics research training and mentoring. We provide our students with a solid foundation in Biological or Biomedical Sciences through several UCSD umbrella graduate programs. We then bring together students from each program during their second and subsequent years of predoctoral training to build on this foundation with specialized training in Genetics and Genomics. Our integrated approach to Genetics training maintains three educational principles (1) Rigorous training in the classical principles and intellectual methods of Genetics;(2) Research training in the newest and most powerful laboratory and analytical methods of Genetics and Genomics;and (3) Development of an appreciation for the problems, outlooks and ethical considerations associated with applications of research and with current medical and clinical genetics. We request a modest expansion to support 16 and then 18 trainees during the period of this award. The development of this unique and collaborative program is tied to a continuing expansion of student and faculty research interests in Genetics and Genomics across several Departments, School and Institutions in the highly successful La Jolla research community.
This Genetics Training Program prepares advanced students to take on emerging challenges in health sciences, including studies of human inherited disease susceptibility and resistance, disease modeling in experimental organisms, and genetically-based therapeutics.
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