# Interdisciplinary Visual Sciences (IVS) Training Program

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2021 · $202,828

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
It clearly emerges from NEI's 2012 strategic plan “Vision Research: Needs, Gaps and Opportunities” that
vision research embraces every discipline in the biological sciences, cognitive sciences, and clinical realms.
Vision scientists are aware of the critical importance of interdisciplinary approaches in their research, and of
the need for rapid translation of findings in basic research to clinical care. Accordingly, the next generation of
vision scientists will need to develop their scientific skills within an environment that stresses cutting edge
science, interdisciplinary cooperation, an understanding of the visual system, and exposure to clinical
ophthalmology. The Interdisciplinary Visual Sciences (IVS) Training Program is focused on creating a training
environment that will favor interactions and collaborations among vision scientists, that involves predoctoral
students and postdoctoral fellows in interdisciplinary approaches to understanding the visual system and
ocular diseases, and that provides thoughtful and targeted professional development activities to ensure
trainees receive necessary career skills that enable them to be successful in long-term research careers.
Although this T32 application focuses on training of basic scientists, our trainees will have frequent interactions
with clinical ophthalmologists, attend lecturers in our didactic vision course entitled “Biology of Vision”, and
have close interactions with physician-scientists through course work, seminars, and data clubs. Our T32
training program draws graduate students from several shared graduate programs at the University of
Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, which provide the structure and basic curriculum for trainees. The
IVS T32 Program builds on this strong foundation by providing specialized training in vision research combined
with professional development activities and frequent team mentoring. The IVS T32 Program also provides a
structure for training of postdoctoral fellows in vision research that will coordinate with the significant support
structure already in place at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. Finally, the IVS T32
Program provides mentor training for Preceptors, an emerging theme in biomedical science research as critical
for the long-term retention and success of trainees in research careers. The IVS T32 program will strive to
attract the brightest students and postdocs with the following overarching goals 1) to provide interdisciplinary,
cutting-edge training in vision science research and its responsible and ethical conduct; 2) to provide
thoughtful, career-specific professional development opportunities to increase their retention in the vision
sciences, as well as more broadly in the biomedical workforce; and 3) to enhance interactions, collaborations
and the overall quality of vision research among trainees and faculty at the University of Pittsburgh and
Carnegie Mellon University

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10150840
- **Project number:** 5T32EY017271-13
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Paul R. Kinchington
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $202,828
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2008-05-01 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10150840

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10150840, Interdisciplinary Visual Sciences (IVS) Training Program (5T32EY017271-13). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10150840. Licensed CC0.

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