During the last ten years, training in Physiology departments in this country has undergone a transformation which precludes students from obtaining research training which spans the discipline from the whole animal to the cellular and molecular level. An exception is the Physiology Department of the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), which offers research training that emphasizes integration of knowledge at all these levels as well as development of an appreciation for the relationship of this knowledge to disease processes. This proposed program will continue to provide training in Cellular, Molecular, and whole Animal PhysIology. Trainees will be recruited nationally and will be selected on the basis of academic credentials, previous research experience, and commitment to a career in research and teaching. During a period of approximately five years, trainees will complete required and elective courses and a research project which includes use of the techniques of molecular biology, biochemistry, isolated tissues, and whole animal investigation. Emphasis will be placed on interpretation of the relationship of data obtained from subcellular systems to the normal and abnormal physiology of the whole animal. Research will be in the areas of hypertension, stroke, and pulmonary disease, and will be designed to provide trained biomedical scientists in those areas of need, each of which has been targeted by NIH. Research training will be conducted under the supervision of the primary faculty of the training program (faculty of the Department of Physiology) in conjunction with secondary faculty who have been selected for their special expertise in an aspect of molecular biology, biochemistry, gene expression, cardiovascular, or pulmonary research using the whole animal. The secondary faculty are members of Departments of Anesthesiology, Biochemistry, Cellular Biology and Anatomy, Medicine, Microbiology, Pathology, and Pharmacology & Toxicology; the adjacent location of their research laboratories promotes active interaction between students and faculty in the Department of Physiology. Primary faculty will serve as dissertation advisors; secondary faculty will serve on dissertation committees and will function as research consultants. All trainees will be full-time Ph.D. candidates in the MCW Graduate School. Trainee progress in developing critical, integrative thought and in acquiring the skills required to successfully contribute to continuing studies on prevention and control of cardiovascular and pulmonary disease will be monitored at regular intervals. A plan is described for evaluation the success of the program in meeting its training objectives.
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