This is a revised proposal that seeks funding to support multidisciplinary predoctoral and postdoctoral training in Systems Neuroscience--the analysis of neural systems that underlie behavior--by creating the Training Program in Systems Neuroscience. The Program is designed to produce new Ph.D.'s and postdoctoral scientists who are capable of establishing independent research programs in neuroscience. It will operate under the auspices of the Graduate Program in Neuroscience, a recently established multidisciplinary program that encompasses faculty from several departments at the University of California, Davis. This application is prompted by the establishment of the Center for Neuroscience and the rapid expansion of the neuroscience community at UC Davis. In the past five years, UC Davis has recruited 10 new faculty members in the area of systems neuroscience, and the strong institutional commitment to the continued development of neuroscience has made UC Davis an ideal environment for the multidisciplinary training of neuroscientists. Funds are requested for five years to support four predoctoral and four postdoctoral students. The Trainers for this program include 26 extramurally funded UC Davis neuroscientists whose research interests range from the molecular biology of calcium channels, to neurophysiological analyses of primate sensory cortices, to neuropsychological analyses of patients with focal brain damage. Many of the faculty emphasize research in mental-health related areas. Graduate trainees will participate in course work, including a comprehensive Core Course in Neuroscience, laboratory rotations designed to aid them in selecting an appropriate research sponsor, mentored research projects, journal clubs, and lecture series that equip them to conduct research responsibly, professionally, and successfully. While postdoctoral students will also participate in that lecture series, their training will emphasize intensive, mentored programs of research. Particular emphasis will be placed on training postdoctoral students to achieve independent research funding. The Training Program will sponsor an annual retreat, during which trainees and other neuroscience graduate students will present their research. Trainees will also participate in the organization of a biweekly seminar series in neuroscience. In order to provide additional instructional resources to trainees and members of the graduate and postgraduate neuroscience community, a Neurosciences Resource Center will be developed that will contain computer-aided instructional materials in neuroscience and facilities for independent research in computer simulation of neural systems.
| Karlen, S J; Kahn, D M; Krubitzer, L (2006) Early blindness results in abnormal corticocortical and thalamocortical connections. Neuroscience 142:843-58 |
