Training Grant in Neurobehavioral Genetics

University Of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a proposal to renew a highly focused postdoctoral training program in Neurobehavioral Genetics. Elucidating the genetic basis of diseases of the nervous system promises to transform our understanding of some of the most prevalent, burdensome, and complex afflictions of humankind. The program bridges several longstanding dichotomies; between nervous system mechanisms and behavior, between neurology and psychiatry/psychology, between diseases and non-disease traits, and between humans and model organisms. The program provides exposure to the science of neurobehavioral phenotyping to individuals with basic science backgrounds. The program stresses the importance of, and provides unified training in, systematic delineation and assessment of nervous system phenotypes, including the integration of traditional clinical and cognitive evaluations with recently available phenotyping tools such as neuroimaging and gene expression profiling. The core curriculum of the program emphasizes phenotyping of the nervous system and advanced genetics, and is designed to promote interactions between the postdoctoral fellows and their counterparts in a companion predoctoral program. A new curriculum element for this renewal is an intensive practical course in big data, emphasizing both the bioinformatics analysis of high-throughput sequencing data and issues involved in large-scale data sharing. The program gains cohesion by a neurogenetics seminar series and an annual program retreat. Intensive research experience with a mentor chosen by the trainee constitutes the heart of the program. The ambitious goals of the program are achievable because the program faculty is very strong in virtually all of the areas that are relevant to neurobehavioral genetics, and because the faculty members have long embraced, in their research and teaching, the integrative and cross-disciplinary approach that is at the heart of the program.