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Kansas IDDRC homeThe following programs provide financial support to pre and/or post-doctoral trainees to allow them to concentrate on developing both the range and depth of skills necessary to become generative scientists in the field of mental retardation and developmental disabilities. The following section describes these training opportunities.
There is a great need for researchers in communication disorders trained in language impairments. The proposed competing continuation would continue to provide predoctoral cross-disciplinary research training as well as preparation for research and teaching careers addressing language impairments from a lifespan orientation. These areas of expertise appear in academic departments of communication disorders, cognitive neuroscience, linguistics, human development, psychology, geriatrics, and cognitive science. Five predoctoral trainees are requested for 2-3 years of support per trainee. It is expected that trainees will be drawn primarily from current doctoral students in child language, communication disorders, linguistics, or psychology. Program faculty include eight experienced, productive researchers who direct active research laboratories. These faculty have related interests as well as a track record of collaborative endeavors. Trainees will enroll in a cross-disciplinary curriculum of academic offerings in content courses, research methods and design, and responsible conduct of research. Each trainee will participate in primary and secondary level research experiences. The primary research participation will be a multi-year apprenticeship that takes place in a laboratory headed by one of the program faculty. A secondary, short-term research experience will be carried out under the direction of a second faculty member. Faculty and peer mentoring will be recognized as important dimensions of the research training experience. A peer mentoring group will be continued, and serve as a source of feedback to the faculty. The climate for scholarship includes a wide variety of scholarly activities, including participation with trainees from other disciplines, access to visiting scholars, and participation in the ongoing series of seminars and workshops sponsored by the Merrill Advanced Studies Center and the Institute for Life Span Studies. Preparation of research posters, talks, scientific papers and an F31 application is expected. The training addresses a major public health need in the development of scientific expertise to guide the remediation of language impairments.
Please contact Dr. Mabel Rice for more information.
The objective of this program is to prepare post-doctoral trainees to establish independent research careers in the areas of gonadal function, early pregnancy and embryonic development through implantation. The training program will consist of three elements; independent laboratory research, group seminars and other functions held jointly with the Center for Reproductive Sciences, and formal course work in research ethics and animal welfare, as well as subjects that will enhance the trainee's research expertise. The independent research will occur in a laboratory selected by the trainee from a group of 12 scientists who are leaders in various aspects of reproductive and developmental biology. The members of this training group have well established NIH-funded programs and have trained more than 86 postdoctoral fellows. Areas of study include fertilization, pre-implantation development, trophoblast-uterine interactions, the immunobiology of implantation and early pregnancy, as well as regulation of gonadal function, gene expression during testis and embryonic development. The strength of this group is enhanced by collaboration among the members as evidenced by the record of joint publications, grants, and students. This program will take advantage of an existing Center for Reproductive Sciences comprising 21 principal investigators and 78 additional staff and trainees to provide an enhanced training environment. The Center for Reproductive Sciences sponsors an active seminar program and hosts a regional conference in reproductive biology, which provides additional opportunities for trainees to present their work. The recruitment, selection and guidance of trainees will be coordinated through an Internal Advisory Committee, with input from all participating faculty and in consultation with an External Advisor, who will meet with the group once each year. Applicants who have been awarded a Ph.D. degree in one of the biological sciences, or a D.V.M. or M.D. degree and who demonstrate a commitment to research in reproductive biology will be considered for entry into the program. An emphasis will be placed on recruiting under represented minorities into the program. The records of the six trainees selected during the first funding period are impressive, with two of the four trainees who have completed their training having assumed faculty positions, one tenure track and one research track. The overall success of the program will ultimately be measured by the contributions of these trainees after they have established independent research programs.
Please contact Dr. Bill Kinsey for more information.
The goal of the Kansas University Training Program in Neurological and Rehabilitation Sciences is to provide predoctoral interdisciplinary training in translational research in basic and clinical aspects of neuroscience, especially as it applies to neurological conditions amenable to rehabilitative treatments. The interdisciplinary nature of this program is unique in that basic science trainees will have the opportunity to participate in clinical aspects of neurological disorders, and clinical trainees will be provided with valuable basic scientific insights and technical experience in neurobiological mechanisms. The program derives expertise from both basic and clinical research to cross-fertilize research experiences of the individual trainees. Didactic training will include core curricula for predoctoral students in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical Science, the Graduate Programs in Neuroscience or the Graduate Program in Rehabilitation Science, providing a firm groundwork for understanding basic genetic, molecular and cellular mechanisms. Short-term, summer training experiences will be offered to medical and allied health students, providing experience with the complex interdisciplinary models that will be necessary for the next generation of therapeutic approaches in neurorehabilitation. The faculty includes 23 basic and clinical mentors, and an additional 19 teaching faculty who are located within 10 Departments and two Schools of the Kansas University Medical Center. The strength of this group is the expertise and caliber of research faculty, the outstanding research infrastructure, the focus on translating basic neuroscientific principles to bear on neurological conditions, and the desire of both scientists and clinicians to collaborate in the interdisciplinary training of students. Laboratory research and apprenticeships, courses, seminars, guest lectures, journal clubs, data sessions, and poster presentations will be utilized to ensure frequent interaction of the trainees and faculty. The recruitment and selection of trainees will be coordinated through an Internal Advisory Committee, with input from all participating faculty. In addition, the program will be monitored by an External Advisory Committee, composed of national leaders in graduate training in neuroscience and rehabilitation science. Complex medical conditions such as those that result from brain injury require a new approach to understanding and treating patients based on interdisciplinary workgroups of scientists and clinicians. This program will train young scientists to work in research teams that address the basic mechanisms of brain recovery and repair in the context of real-world relevance and feasibility.
Please contact Dr. Randy Nudo for more information.
The objective of this postdoctoral training program is to promote the development of the next generation of researchers who address the problems of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Our goal is to support a broad, interdisciplinary perspective that integrates basic research and application. Progress in understanding and treating IDD will require a translational research effort that entails not only the flow of knowledge from basic research to the solution of clinical problems, but also the laboratory investigation of the behavioral and biological mechanisms that underlie these problems. The primary means of achieving our training goals will be the active and continuous participation of trainees in the translational research programs of mentors, and the guided development of trainees own lines of research. In addition, a seminar series that targets issues in IDD, translational-research applications, grantsmanship, and other aspects of professional development will be a critical part of the postdoctoral experience. We plan to have a total of four trainees per year. Most will have just earned the PhD, but our budget allows for several more-senior trainees over the course of the five-year program. A critical characteristic of our approach lies in the extent to which the faculty represent and integrate application and basic research. The training program brings together researchers from Cognitive Neuroscience, Behavior Analysis, Speech and Language, Pharmacology, and Special Education. Faculty research areas range from early intervention for cognitive or social development, behavioral and neurological predictors of IDD, language development, chronic aberrant behavior, pharmacology, and literacy. Mentors are highly experienced researchers with histories of collaboration, both with one another and with investigators from other universities and IDDRCs
Please contact Dr. Kathryn Sanders for more information.
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