Training Program in Neural Repair (Predoctoral and postdoctoral)

This program for predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees, directed by Dr. Marie-Françoise Chesselet, draws on the unique strength of a group of training faculty at UCLA to train young investigators in the basic aspects of neural repair.  Recent years have seen tremendous progress in the understanding of the mechanisms of neuronal death and neural plasticity, leading to new perspectives for neural repair in the central nervous system.  This program trains investigators to meet the challenges of the field in the next century. The program enrolls postdoctoral fellows and outstanding graduate students from the Interdepartmental Graduate Program for Neuroscience and other graduate programs at UCLA. The curriculum for predoctoral trainees in the Interdepartmental Graduate Program for Neuroscience includes training in broad areas of cellular, molecular and system neuroscience, specialized courses in neural repair, and exposure to relevant clinical situations. 

Students with a primary interest in neural repair are selected for support at the end of the second quarter of their first year in the program. Students are exposed to interactions with a variety of faculty and students investigating the nervous system from many perspectives, both basic and clinical.  These interactions occur in courses, seminars, activities organized by postdoctoral fellows or students, and the annual neuroscience student retreat.