Training Grant in Vision Research

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Vanderbilt Vision Research Center (WRC) request continued support for predoctoral and postdoctoral training. Vision and eye researchers at Vanderbilt maintain an exceptionally strong training record with excellent research progress. Aggressive faculty recruiting has increased the number and quality of mentors and the number of NEI-funded research grants. The program of research and training extends from traditional psychophysics with structural and functional brain imaging and visual neuroscience to cellular and molecular eye research. Individuals trained during previous grant periods have obtained competitive postdoctoral or faculty positions and developed productive, independent careers in vision research. Training will continue in psychophysics, visual neuroscience and molecular mechanisms of transduction, retinal processing and retinal disease. Specific program requirements for predoctoral trainees include (1) The Visual System course team-taught by program faculty, (2) additional courses specified by the trainee's graduate program selected from an extensive curriculum covering molecular biology, neuroscience, perception and engineering, (3) participation in the local Vision Training Seminar series, the invited speaker Vision Research Seminar series, and Eye & Vision Research Colloquia as well as related seminars on campus, (4) participation in international scientific meetings such as Association for Research in Vision & Ophthalmology, Vision Science Society and Society for Neuroscience, (5) participation in a Responsible Conduct of Research program, and (6) most importantly, research supervised by one or more mentors. Postdoctoral trainees are required to fulfill the same requirements except (2) while they prepare an independent NRSA proposal. This training program develops independent, academic vision and eye researchers through interdisciplinary training in vision and eye research fostered by the number and cohesiveness of vision and eye researchers at Vanderbilt.