Research Training in Vision Science

ABSTRACT This application seeks five years' continued funding for a training program supporting four pre-doctoral students with the aim of producing independent investigators capable of sustaining productive research programs in the vision sciences. The program is designed for training students in the areas of molecular/cellular biology, genetics, biochemistry, biomedical engineering, machine learning, and immunology with particular focus on training in vision research. Mentors have been selected with an emphasis both on the productivity of their current research and on their training records. The training program is organized to rigorously instruct and reinforce skills pertinent to experimental science and involves a combination of coursework, independent research, oral presentations (in-house, national and international), written research proposals, and the sharpening of communication skills through continuous mentor feedback and peer review. The program is interdisciplinary and utilizes a core group of thirteen mentors with active research and training programs whose primary and joint appointments span four colleges (Medicine, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Veterinary Medicine). The Department of Ophthalmology serves as the administrative and logistical center for this vision science training program, but individual faculty preceptors maintain primary graduate training appointments in the Departments of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Neuroscience, Pediatrics, Immunology, Pharmacology, Biomedical Engineering, Small Animal Veterinary Sciences, and Psychology. The Department of Ophthalmology adds depth to the program by providing exposure to current problems in clinical ophthalmology in order to acquaint the pre-doctoral students with relevant clinical issues in vision. Overall, we propose an integrated program of research training and professional development aimed at producing independent investigators capable of sustaining productive, innovative, independent research programs in the vision sciences.