FNS YearlyReport08-09

Jim Grau

Description

Supervising over 70 graduate students and 22 postdoctoral trainees. • A very positive ..... Dr. Cedric L. Williams, University of Virginia. Dr. Michael J. ..... The VPR in TAMU and TAMHSC currently subsidizes the use of core facilities. Efforts ...... http://www.cvm.tamu.edu/wklemm/documents/Pubs.cvm.format.pdf. Klemm, W. R. ...

Informations

• Publié par: paul.vallen
• Nombre de lectures: 26
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience Annual Report September 2008 to August 2009 Submitted to the Vice President for Research and Council of Participating Deans September 21, 2009 Highlights • 73 regular members, from 9 colleges and 20 departments • Generates over $50 million in grant funding • Supervising over 70 graduate students and 22 postdoctoral trainees • A very positive external review of the Ph.D. program (October, 2008) • Ph.D. program approved by the Coordinating Board (April, 2009) • Identified as one of the top 8 (out of 111) interdisciplinary programs at TAMU • Continued growth in the undergraduate program (with over 80 minors in NRSC) Plans for 2009/2010 • Establish an effective funding mechanism for graduate training in NRSC • Establish a base of graduate courses in NRSC through cross-listing • Process students wishing to transfer to the NRSC Ph.D. program (to start Jan., 2010) • Recruit first class of graduate students (to start Sept., 2010) • Continue to build the undergraduate minor • Obtain approval for the Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience (by Jan., 2010) • Negotiate funding for TAMIN, establishing a base of administrative and graduate support • Initiate the search for 3 senior faculty in Neuroscience (funded by the TAMIN proposal) • Continue to build the program and involve a wide-range of faculty by James W. Grau, Ph.D. Chair, Interdisciplinary Faculty of Neuroscience Mission The Faculty of Neuroscience, and the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, conducts a range of research, teaching, and service activities across the participating institutions. These activities are conducted to promote the five major goals of the program: • to recruit graduate students and faculty interested in interdisciplinary neuroscience research, • to provide educational opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students through interdisciplinary training, • to facilitate departmental and college research strengths in the neurosciences through interdisciplinary collaborations, • to foster development of new research areas and extramural funding in the neurosciences, and • to become a premier neuroscientific community of high national ranking and strong international reputation. Elections, Meetings, and Policies The FNS held elections in the summer of 2009 and re-elected Jim Grau (Psyc) as Chair. He will serve from September 1, 2009 till August 31, 2011. Others re-elected to the Executive Committee (EC) include Drs. Jennifer Bizon (Psyc; Curriculum/Graduate Program) and Barry Setlow (Psyc; Seminar), both of whom will also serve till August of 2011. The remaining committee chairs (Dr. Ursula Winzer-Serhan [NExT; Membership/Nominating] and Gregg Wells [NExT; Recruiting]) have appointments that expire in August of 2010. This last year, Candi LaSarge served as the graduate student representative. Because this is a one-year appointment, an election is in progress to replace her. In addition, the Policies were modified to allow the President of the local chapter for the Society of Neuroscience to serve on the EC. Dr. Mary Meagher (Psyc) was recently elected to this position and will serve till August of 2010. Eight committee members were elected/re-elected in August of 2009. They are: Curriculum Committee: Gladys Ko (VIBS) and Mike Smotherman (Biol) Membership Committee: Louise Abbott (VIBS) and Jane Welsh (VIBS) Recruiting Committee: Ursula Winzer-Serhan (NExT) and Mendell Rimer (NExT) Seminar Committee: Jane Welsh (VIBS) and Mike Smotherman (Biol) Two ad hoc committees were formed to address matters that required additional attention. The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee was formed to enhance the minor in NRSC and to promote the development of the undergraduate major. Dr. Lou Tassinary (Visualization) will chair the committee. Drs. Ginger Carney (Biol), Rachel Hull (Psyc), Gladys Ko (VIBS), and Marcel Amstalden (Animal Science) are serving on the committee. With the approval of the Ph.D. program in NRSC, it is imperative that we develop a funding strategy that provides an assurance of support for at least 5 years of graduate study (assuming the student remains in good standing). Dr. Jane Welsh has agreed to chair an ad hoc Graduate Support Committee that will address this issue. Other members of the committee include: Drs. Barry Setlow (Psyc), Farida Sohrabji (NExT) and Mark Zoran (Biol). 2 The Faculty of Neuroscience met at regular intervals (at the start of each semester and at the end of the spring semester) to discuss undergraduate/graduate training, the Ph.D. proposal, and the development of our white paper (the Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience [TAMIN]). The EC generally met 1-2 times per semester to address pending issues. Additional meetings were held this last year to prepare for the review of the Ph.D. proposal by the external review team, Regents, and Coordinating Board. In addition to the EC, Dr. Mark Zoran (past Chair of the Faculty of Neuroscience and an instrumental force in developing the Ph.D. proposal) and Dr. William Griffith (Head of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics [NExT] within the Medical School) played an important role. Finally, a subcommittee was formed to write the white paper describing TAMIN. The committee included: Drs. Marcel Amstalden (Animal Science), Jennifer Bizon (Psyc), Yoonsuck Che (Computer Sci), Richard Finnell (IBT), Rene Garcia (Biol), William Griffith (NExT), Jianrong Li (VIBS), Mary Meagher (Psyc), Rajesh Miranda (NExT), Cynthia Riccio (Ed Psyc), Lou Tassinary (Visualization), Jane Welsh (VIBS), and Mark Zoran (Biol). Plans In the report submitted last year, 7 aims were listed: 1) Establish the interdisciplinary degree in neuroscience 2) Define a presence for neuroscience at A&M 3) Develop faculty links/collaboration 4) Build a strong faculty 5) Strengthen the undergraduate program 6) Establish effective funding mechanisms 7) Learn from other programs The first aim was to obtain approval for our Ph.D. proposal in Neuroscience (NRSC). A major obstacle, the agreement of a Memorandum of Understanding concerning the joint administration of the degree program across TAMU and the HSC, was cleared in the spring of 2008. Once that was done, an external review of the program was scheduled for October of 2008. The reviewers were Drs. Rebecca Burwell (Brown University), Cedric Williams (University of Virginia) and Michael Zigmond (University of Pittsburgh). The program received very positive reviews (see Attachment A): • “If the new Doctoral Program receives the necessary support, there is no question that it can become a world class program and one of the leading neuroscience graduate programs in the country.” • “The success of the faculty in generating grant funds is likely due, in part, to the research areas of interest and the complementary approaches. As a group, the faculty research interests address important human health problems including aging, diseases of the nervous system, pain, recovery after injury, and addiction.” • “We were enormously impressed with the atmosphere of collegiality among the Faculty of Neuroscience.” • “We were also impressed by the leadership of the Faculty of Neuroscience, both past and present. It is outstanding at all levels.” 3 • “One strength of this effort is the apparent support of the administration. This is evident in the recent hiring successes undoubtedly supported by excellent start-up packages, construction of a new Life Sciences Building devoted partially to Neuroscience laboratories, and the strong and well-supported core facilities.” In response to these reviews, the EC prepared a response (Attachment B). A major issue concerned the development of an adequate base of funding. This issue was addressed by augmenting the base budget by $72,000/year for the first two years of the program (2009-2011). Funds were promised by each VPR (TAMU and Health Science Center [HSC]) and the Deans of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Science, and Liberal Arts ($12,000 each). A revised budget was then developed (Attachment C) and a Program Approval Request (Attachment D) was signed by Drs. Murano and Dickey and submitted to the Regents in December of 2008. The program thwas then approved by the Coordinating Board on April 30 of 2009. We have subsequently begun to process students who wish to transfer into the graduate program and have been developing a recruiting strategy to recruit new students in the Spring of 2010. The aims outlined last year were also addressed, in part, through the preparation and submission of a white paper describing a new institute, the Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience (TAMIN). In response to a call for proposals in the Fall of 2008, we developed a short outline of the proposal, which was identified as being among the top 18 (our of 111) to be considered in a second round of evaluation. In the Spring of 2009, a more elaborate proposal (Attachment E) was developed, along with supporting materials (a video and poster). The Neuroscience proposal was then selected as one of 8 to be recommended to the Steering Committee. In the Summer of 2009, we learned that these proposals would be funded, though at a level below the original request. Cost-sharing agreements (75% Provost, 25% Colleges) were then negotiated to hire 3 senior faculty in Neuroscience. Space has been requested to house these faculty in the shelled area of the third floor of the ILSB, adjacent to other neuroscience faculty housed in that building and the vivarium (essential to many areas of neuroscience research). In addition, funds are being requested to provide graduate stipends during the first year rotation and partial (25%) support in years 2-5. Other items being requested include a base administrative budg