Research on normal and abnormal mechanisms of vision

University of Pennsylvania Vision Training Program, Project Summary We propose to continue a broad, interdisciplinary Vision Training Program (VTP) now in its 45th year. The program includes 25 trainers in 8 departments across 4 schools with expansive expertise in many areas of vision science and ophthalmology including: the eye (optics, cornea); phototransduction (biophysics, molecular biology); retina (circuitry, neurochemistry, developmental genetics, disease, gene therapy, optogenetics); central pathways (physiology, computation, neuroimaging); and higher processes (psychophysics, cognitive neuroscience, computation). The purpose the VTP is to promote intellectual development of outstanding trainees interested in the visual sciences so that they may ultimately become leaders in their chosen disciplines. Our most recent renewal of the VTP supported predoctoral trainees only; we propose to expand our training group to include postdoctoral fellows in the upcoming cycle. Predoctoral admissions to PENN are highly competitive with top tier students admitted under a “graduate group” which oversees the broad coursework completed over the first two years of study, laboratory rotations, and placement in research labs. Postdoctoral fellows are admitted directly to laboratories by the individual Principle Investigators. The VTP typically accepts predoctorate students from the Neuroscience, Psychology, Cell and Molecular Biology, Pharmacology, or Bioengineering graduate groups who are in their third year of training and have completed their coursework, passed a candidacy/qualifying exam, and joined a research lab devoted to Vision Science or Ophthalmology. Postdocs will be accepted to the VTP in their initial appointment years. Because trainees come from these different academic backgrounds, the VTP is critical for providing a unified program encompassing a broad array of topics yet providing an in depth education on state-of-the-art approaches for studying Ophthalmology and Vision Science. In addition to the rigorous and impactful research projects expected of our trainees, the VTP includes a Vision Seminar Series (comprised of visiting external faculty and scientists), the PENN Vision club (comprised of speakers from PENN), and the Vision Retreat (including student speakers and a visiting Scholar-in- Residence). This cycle we also are adding a series of workshops on “Research Methods in Vision Science from Cornea to Cortex” which will include opportunities for trainees to shadow ophthalmology clinics, gain experience with retinal imaging in humans and animal models, observe neurophysiology, neural recording and neuroimaging experiments, and learn statistical approaches for ophthalmology and vision science including considerations for inter-eye correlation. Postdoctoral trainees will also join a “Grant Proposal Success” group which serves as a mock study section. In the past 10 years, the Vision Training Program has trained or is training 18 PhD/MD or PhDs with most continuing their careers at prominent research institutions. The impact of our training program has been widespread, adding significantly to our understanding of vision in health and disease.