Grants and Contracts Details
Description
PROJECT SUMMARY
This is a renewal application requesting continued funding for a Neurobiology of CNS Injury and Repair T32
Training Program to support 4 predoctoral fellows (per year) working toward their Ph.D. degrees in the fields
of spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI), or stroke. The overall goal continues to be to prepare
highly motivated graduate students for careers in neurotrauma research-related fields by providing broad-
based training in the pathophysiology of SCI, TBI and stroke and the identification of potential disease-
modifying molecular targets that can drive the discovery of pharmacological or gene-based therapeutic
strategies. An Executive Committee will select trainees from a pool of qualified applicants, generally in their
third year of PhD training. Trainees will receive intensive hands-on research mentoring, with an emphasis on
understanding and applying quantitative assessment tools, in laboratories of Training Faculty appointed in the
Departments of Neuroscience, Physiology, Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences
who regularly interact and collaborate through their affiliation with the University of Kentucky’s Spinal Cord &
Brain Injury Research Center (SCoBIRC). In addition to required and optional coursework, trainees will engage
in journal clubs, Center and departmental seminar series and a customized set of program-wide meetings in
Professional Skills, Quantitative Literacy-Experimental Design and Statistics (PSQL-EDS). The monthly
PSQL-EDS meetings will facilitate active learning of concepts such as quantitative literacy, statistical analysis,
and cognitive bias as well as scientific writing and professional development. Of the students appointed to the
T32 Program in the previous 9 years, 13 have completed their PhDs, 2 will complete their PhDs in year 10, and
6 will continue their PhD training. All those that completed their PhDs continued into science-related positions.
Several are continuing their education (3 postdocs, 1 resident), one is an AAAS science policy fellow at the
NIH, and the majority are pursuing careers in academia (3 Assistant Professors, 1 instructor, 1 researcher) and
biomedical industry (2). The PhD completion and career placement success of the T32 Program is further
highlighted by an outstanding record of recruiting and retaining diverse trainees: over 40% of appointees are of
underrepresented race or ethnicity, have a disability or come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Our program’s
success and continued evolution will be guided by two groups: an Executive Committee comprised of the
Program Directors, Training Faculty, and other senior University of Kentucky faculty who bring expertise in
administration, mentoring and inclusion research initiatives, and an External Advisory Committee made up of
national leaders in SCI, TBI and stroke research. Pairing comprehensive research-intensive training with
didactic and interactive educational and career development activities delivered from diverse perspectives, the
Neurobiology of CNS Injury and Repair T32 Program is uniquely positioned to fill a growing need for rigorously
trained scientists who desire careers in neurotrauma and stroke related research.
PROJECT NARRATIVE
Acute CNS injuries such as spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury and stroke share many common cellular
and molecular mechanisms of brain damage and repair. These mechanisms often differ substantially from
other genetic, developmental or degenerative brain diseases, necessitating specialized education and
research training for those who pursue careers in CNS injury research with the goal of lessening the health-
related burden of CNS injury on survivors. The Neurobiology of CNS Injury and Repair T32 Program is
designed to provide outstanding, comprehensive educational and research-intensive training to predoctoral
students and fully prepare them for their transition to independent careers.
Status | Active |
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Effective start/end date | 7/1/12 → 6/30/27 |
Funding
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke: $255,827.00
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