# Vision Research Training Grant at the University of Utah

> **NIH NIH T32** · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · 2021 · $160,906

## Abstract

Project Summary
With this application, we propose to continue the Moran Eye Center T32 Vision Research Training Grant
(VRTG) ending in 2018. The principle underlying graduate and postdoctoral VRTG education at the University
of Utah is that students experience strong interdisciplinary, interdepartmental collaborations that cover both
basic research and applied approaches to vision science. Our program offers predoctoral and postdoctoral
training in fundamental areas -- molecular biology, electrophysiology, developmental neuroscience, retina
connectomics, translational science and visual behavior – that are critical to achieve a successful career in
visual neuroscience. The program combines systematic didactic training that focuses on critical thinking,
communication skills, and analytic rigor with research training that takes advantage of the core strengths of the
Moran Eye Center and the vision research community at the University of Utah: a long-standing, continued
track record of excellence in the cutting-edge praxis molecular biology, physiology and connectomics, and the
study of human disease. Twenty-three NIH/NEI- or NSF-funded faculty members are aligned in five broad
areas of vision research: Molecular Biology/Biochemistry, Cellular and Developmental Science, Ocular
Disease/Animal Models, Translational Interventions, and Computational Science. Reflecting the program’s
breadth, these areas provide exceptional opportunities to the 44 currently eligible predoctoral and postdoctoral
trainees (Table 1). This application requests funding for two predoctoral and two postdoctoral trainees. The
program outcomes from the previous period are listed in (Table 8A, 8C). Recent graduates of the Moran Eye
Center have been placed in top-notch postdoctoral fellowships (at Indiana University, Bloomington, at UT
Southwestern and at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City), and our postdoctoral trainees have published
widely and are competing successfully for NIH R01 funding. The renewal builds on coursework that keeps
pace with ongoing discoveries in vision research, especially in the recently expanding areas of molecular and
genetic models of vision, genomic approaches to disease, and computational data analysis at the University of
Utah. The strong track record of the program suggests that trainees from the University of Utah will continue to
excel as future leaders in vision research.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10150844
- **Project number:** 5T32EY024234-08
- **Recipient organization:** UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
- **Principal Investigator:** DAVID KRIZAJ
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $160,906
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-05-01 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10150844

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10150844, Vision Research Training Grant at the University of Utah (5T32EY024234-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10150844. Licensed CC0.

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