Training & Grant Opportunities

The Georgetown University AART program is designed for predoctoral students and postdoctoral fellows whose backgrounds have not included substantial previous training in aging or Alzheimer’s disease. It is driven by a transdisciplinary group of over 20 researchers from ten departments, across biomedical topics that are associated with cognitive impairment with aging (e.g., diabetes, HIV-infection, traumatic brain injury, proteinopathies, chemotherapy, seizures). The AART program directs aspects of these research disciplines more directly to aging and AD research through the trainees.

The Training Program in Neural Injury and Plasticity (NIP) grew from the Center for Neural Injury and Recovery (CNIR) and represents a unique and highly collaborative endeavor at Georgetown University (GU). Since its inception in 2001, the NIP Training Program has provided support for many predoctoral students during their thesis period and postdoctoral trainees. Our predoctoral students are enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience (IPN) at Georgetown University and represent a highly competitive group of applicants.

The Neuroscience of Language Training Program provides an integrated training program, including: (1) A Curriculum of Coursework designed to provide a strong cross-disciplinary conceptual and technical knowledge base; (2) Clinical Experience with communication disorders to help trainees understand the clinical impact of their research; (3) Community Engagement to foster understanding about how research impacts the community; (4) Training in the Professional Skills and Ethical Practices necessary for a successful research career; and (5) An interdisciplinary and diverse Community of Scholars focused on the neuroscience of language research.

The Pharmacological Sciences Training Program (PSTP) at Georgetown University Medical Center is an interdisciplinary and integrated training program that aims to bring together an inclusive and diverse community of doctoral candidates across Ph.D. disciplines who are dedicated to thesis research in pharmacological science. Trainees will prepare for future careers in academia, pharma or biotechnology industry, or drug regulatory agencies. We provide Ph.D. students with advanced training in physiology and pharmacotherapeutics, taking a systems view ranging from cellular networks to organ function to behavior and systems medicine.

The NIH TL1 funded Pre- and Post-doctoral Training Program in Translational Biomedical Science provides an individualized career development plan that includes: 1) didactic education in human health and disease along with technical skill development and rigorous research methodology; 2) mentored experiential learning in clinical medicine; 3) dual-mentored research training in preclinical and clinical research; 4) individualized career guidance; and, 5) training in team science and leadership skills.

The objective of the predoctoral Training Program in NeuroHIV (TPNH) at Georgetown University is to train young neuroscientists to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms whereby HIV infection leads to the neurodegenerative processes. This TPNH is built on the existing strengths of both the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience (IPN) and the basic and clinical research on HIV at Georgetown University.  Participating faculty provide expertise in neurodegeneration, immunology, neuroinflammation, neuropharmacology and infectious diseases. This interdisciplinary approach is provided by participating faculty from different disciplines/departments. Our faculty are heavily involved in predoctoral training and have a history of mentorship.

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) aims to ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce in the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in fields within NSF’s mission of promoting the progress of science; advancing the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and securing the national defense. The GRFP provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant achievements in science and engineering research. The ranks of NSF Fellows include individuals who have made transformative breakthroughs in science and engineering research and have become leaders in their chosen careers and Nobel laureates.

The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) is a fellowship program run by NIH. The overall goal of the NRSA program is to help ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists is available in appropriate scientific disciplines to address the Nation’s biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. The purpose of the predoctoral fellowship (F31) award is to provide support for promising doctoral candidates who will be performing dissertation research and training in scientific health-related fields relevant to the missions of the participating NIH Institutes during the tenure of the award. The NRSA for Individual Predoctoral Fellows will provide up to five years of support for research training which leads to the Ph.D. or equivalent research degree, the combined M.D./Ph.D. degree, or another formally combined professional degree and research doctoral degree in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences.

The National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship is a highly competitive, portable fellowship that is awarded to U.S. citizens and nationals who intend to pursue a doctoral degree in one fifteen disciples, including Cognitive, Neural and Behavioral Science, Biosciences, and Computer and Computational Sciences. NDSEG confers high honors upon its recipients and allows them to attend whichever U.S. institution they choose.

The MCGSO Travel Grant aims to advance the scientific education of graduate students by promoting attendance at academic conferences and research forums. Travel grant winners are selected the semester before the trip is taken, but awards will not be distributed until after receipts are submitted.

Graduate students in the Biomedical Graduate Programs at Georgetown University are eligible for the grant. Students must be presenting a poster/talk or a participant in a panel.

The MCGSO Student Research Grants Program (SRGP) program was initiated to give graduate students an opportunity to conduct small, independent research projects and to give graduate students an opportunity to write and review grants. Projects funded by this mechanism must be separate from any active ongoing research in your mentor’s lab.

As an interdisciplinary program, the IPN cannot feasibly provide individualized, thesis-relevant training to every one of its students. Not all labs may be able to support training opportunities outside of those provided at conferences. Thus students will have the opportunity to apply for career development funds via the IPN Training Award, made possible through generous contributions to the Career Development Initiative fund.

The purpose of this award is to:

• Allow IPN students to apply for funding to attend a workshop or learn a skill at a workshop/conference that they could apply to their current and future research
• Foster professional development that would benefit them at GU and in their careers
• Fill a gap in currently available funding mechanisms to support graduate education/training

The Training Award would be emblematic of our graduate education in the IPN: exposure to cutting edge topics to develop new hypotheses.

We anticipate putting out the first call for applications for this award in Spring 2015.  Applications will be accepted from thesis students and will additionally require justification for travel and how the travel will be of benefit to both short and long term career plans. A faculty committee will review applications and allocate funding for travel as appropriate.