Visual Sciences Training Program (VSTP)

PROJECT SUMMARY The UC Irvine Vision Science Training Program (VSTP) is specifically designed to train PhD and MD/PhD candidates who will advance research on the causes, diagnosis, progression and treatment of human visual impairments. The goals of this multidisciplinary, inter-departmental training program are to (i) provide high quality research training in basic sciences disciplines that are relevant to vision research and (ii) provide opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborative and translational research so that our trainees can skillfully function in an interactive research environment and draw clinical correlates from their basic findings. A strength of our program will be that all trainees will receive mentoring that is both discipline-specific, i.e. departmental and thematic, i.e. within and across four broad visual sciences areas that encompass the VSTP; (a) Anterior segment and ocular surface, (b) Metabolism & visual processing, (c) Retina and retinal diseases, and (d) Lens. Through our program’s progressive design, trainees will first participate in didactic training to establish a strong foundation in cell and molecular biology, followed by additional didactic training in the biochemistry and molecular biology of all major components of the eye and visual processing. They will then acquire advanced understanding in an area of specialization via advanced courses and thesis research, which are organized according to the four research themes described above. The VSTP leverages UC Irvine’s robust vision science community, bringing together an outstanding group of clinicians and scientists with strong track records of vision research and mentoring. By leveraging these strengths, the VSTP is uniquely poised to produce vision scientists that can creatively apply contemporary research approaches toward understanding problems in vision and ophthalmology.