Support is requested to renew and continue a broad, comprehensive and fundamental interdisciplinary predoctoral training program in the neurosciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The training will be administered by the interdepartmental Curriculum in Neurobiology which is in its third decade of existence as a Ph.D. degree granting entity. Training will involve 48 faculty members of the Curriculum representing research laboratories in 14 departments or programs. These research facilities are well equipped and funded for a wide variety of anatomical, molecular, genetic, biochemical, physiological, behavioral, and biophysical investigations. During the past year the Curriculum has become closely integrated with the new UNC Neuroscience Center providing expanded opportunities for training through the development of new research laboratories, the recruitment of new faculty, and occupancy of a new research building in the Fall of 2001. The formal training program is already in place and constitutes a series of required and elective learning activities leading to the Ph.D. in Neurobiology. Learning activities include formal coursework in a recently reorganized curriculum, laboratory apprenticeship research with individual faculty mentors, focused dissertation research, research seminars, techniques seminars, clinical correlation experiences, journal clubs, and discussion groups on topics of career development and research integrity. In addition an annual Carolina Neuroscience Symposium will expose trainees to current thought on specialized topics presented by distinguished scientists from outside UNC. An important central goal is to train individuals to utilize methods from a variety of disciplines (e.g. ultrastructure, molecular biology, molecular genetics, electrophysiology) to probe important problems in neurobiology. The proposed training program will take advantage of several areas of particular strength in neurobiology research at UNC including: (1) molecular and genetic control of neural development (2) molecular correlations of specific sensory neuronal function, (3) glial cell biology, (4) structure, function, and regulation of neurotransmitters, their receptors and transporters, (5) mechanisms of signal transduction and ion channel function, (6) neuroendocrine and neuroimmune interactions, (7) functional imaging of nervous system activity in vitro, in vivo, and in situ, and (8) distribution and regulation of neuropeptides active in various regions of the central nervous system. Support is requested for 10 predoctoral trainees. Qualified minority candidates will be aggressively recruited.
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