Learning, Memory, and Plasticity (LaMP) Training Program & Grant
The Learning Memory and Plasticity (LaMP) Training Program at UC Davis aims to train the next generation of neuroscientists to bridge the gaps between the major levels of LaMP research (cognitive, systems, and cellular/molecular), in order to promote our understanding of LaMP disorders. The 2-year training program covers 6 main components:
(1) Trainees will conduct research in at least one of the LaMP faculty labs and will be co-mentored by another trainer from a distinct area of LaMP research.
(2) Trainees will be exposed to the essential and emerging concepts in each of the fields of LaMP through a 2-quarter core course consisting of interactive lectures as well as lab-based immersion to give trainees the tools to understand the pros and cons of both the concepts and methods used at each level of analysis.
(3) Trainees will also be exposed to LaMP disorders through a course consisting of didactic and interview/video sessions that span clinical, cognitive, systems and molecular aspects of each disease.
(4) Trainees will receive targeted career development training through a meeting every other week with Program Trainers, emphasizing critical and cross-disciplinary thinking, presentation skills, formal discussion of research-related careers outside of academia, and pressing issues in the field such as data analysis, ethics, and rigor and reproducibility.
(5) Trainees will receive extensive training in grant writing, followed by a mock study section prior to submission of their NRSA in the first quarter of their second year of funding.
(6) Trainees will participate in an annual program retreat and attend an invited LaMP speaker series.
Through these elements, this new LaMP Training Program will produce a new generation of scientists who truly think across levels and scales and who have the skills, drive, and motivation to work collaboratively to tackle the most important issues in learning, memory, and plasticity in order to improve human health. Eligibility of this grant is limited to 6 students per year, who are in Year 2 (Year 3 under exceptional circumstances) of their graduate program.
(1) Trainees will conduct research in at least one of the LaMP faculty labs and will be co-mentored by another trainer from a distinct area of LaMP research.
(2) Trainees will be exposed to the essential and emerging concepts in each of the fields of LaMP through a 2-quarter core course consisting of interactive lectures as well as lab-based immersion to give trainees the tools to understand the pros and cons of both the concepts and methods used at each level of analysis.
(3) Trainees will also be exposed to LaMP disorders through a course consisting of didactic and interview/video sessions that span clinical, cognitive, systems and molecular aspects of each disease.
(4) Trainees will receive targeted career development training through a meeting every other week with Program Trainers, emphasizing critical and cross-disciplinary thinking, presentation skills, formal discussion of research-related careers outside of academia, and pressing issues in the field such as data analysis, ethics, and rigor and reproducibility.
(5) Trainees will receive extensive training in grant writing, followed by a mock study section prior to submission of their NRSA in the first quarter of their second year of funding.
(6) Trainees will participate in an annual program retreat and attend an invited LaMP speaker series.
Through these elements, this new LaMP Training Program will produce a new generation of scientists who truly think across levels and scales and who have the skills, drive, and motivation to work collaboratively to tackle the most important issues in learning, memory, and plasticity in order to improve human health. Eligibility of this grant is limited to 6 students per year, who are in Year 2 (Year 3 under exceptional circumstances) of their graduate program.
2018-2019 Trainees
- Lindsay Cameron entered the Neuroscience Grad Group of Fall 2016, and is currently working with Dr. David Olson. Her specific area of research is “Developing novel compounds that rapidly increase plasticity in the prefrontal cortex to improve mood, reduce anxiety, and treat neuropsychiatric disorders.”
- Nicole Claiborne entered the Neuroscience Grad Group of Fall 2017, and is currently working with Dr. Karen Zito. Her specific area of interest is the “Role of glutamatergic signaling in regulating the stability of dendritic spines.”
- Preetham Ganupuru entered in the Neuroscience Grad Group of Fall 2016, and is currently working with Dr. Tim Hanks. Her specific area of interest is “A novel approach to study neural interactions underlying learning of new decision rules.”
- Sarah Warren Gooding entered in the Neuroscience Grad Group of Fall 2017, and is currently working with Dr. Jennifer Whistler. Her specific area of interest is “Determining the source of addiction-related plasticity in the midbrain during opioid withdrawal.”
- Kyle Ireton entered in the Neuroscience Grad Group of Fall 2015, and is currently working with Dr. Johannes Hell. His specific area of interest is the “Role of regulation of the L-type Ca2+ channel Cav1.2 and AMPARS by norepinephrine in learning.”
- Katelynn Ondek entered in the Neuroscience Grad Group, of Fall 2016, and is currently working with Dr. Gene Gurkoff. Her specific area of interest is “Investigating novel mechanisms and therapies related to temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) using pilocarpine in a rodent model of TLE.”
- Kyle Puhger entered in the Psychology Grad Group of Fall 2016, and is currently working with Dr. Brian Wiltgen. His specific area of interest is “The role of hippocampal-cortical interactions in temporal association memory.”
2017-2018 Trainees
- Jordan Crivelli-Decker entered in the Psychology Grad Group of Fall 2016, and is currently working with Dr. Charan Ranganath. His specific area of interest is the “Oscillatory Patterns Associated With Sequence Learning and Retrieval”
- Erik Hammes entered in the Biomedical Engineering Grad Group of Fall 2014, and is currently working with Dr. Johannes Hell. His specific area of interest is the “Regulation of Postsynaptic Ca Channels and AMPARs by beta Adrenergic Signaling in Fear Conditioning.”
- Kelley Patten entered in the Pharmacology and Toxicology Grad Group of Fall 2016,and is currently working with Dr. Pamela Lein. Her specific area of interest is the “Mechanistic Studies of Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Alzheimer's Disease in a Transgenic Rat Model.”
- Jake Wilmot entered in the Psychology Grad Group of Fall 2015, and is currently working with Dr. Brian Wiltgen. His specific area of interest is “Interrogating the Role of Hippocampal Replay in systems Consolidation.”