# Vision Sciences Training Grant

> **NIH NIH T32** · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2021 · $98,498

## Abstract

Summary
Support is requested for training of 5 predoctoral trainee positions per year, in a university-wide visual science
training program at the systems, cellular, and molecular level. Training by thirty-six faculty mentors focuses on
analysis of visual processing, and cellular, molecular and genetic aspects of the normal and diseased eye, in
both basic science and disease-oriented research. Twenty-five faculty work in Systems and Computation on the
visual and oculomotor systems in humans, non-human primates, and other model systems, using
neurophysiology, psychophysics, behavioral analysis, brain imaging, and computational modeling (Section 1).
Six faculty in Section 2 (Development and Plasticity) focus on retinal cell specification and axon guidance, eye
development, the blood-retina barrier, and biophysics and plasticity of cortical dendrites and circuitry. Eight
faculty have research programs that touch on Molecular/genetic Approaches to the Normal and Diseased Eye
(Section 3) with primary interests in retinal degeneration, retinoid processing, and the genetics, diagnostics and
therapy of retinal disorders, with a focus on age-related macular degeneration and retinal edema. Although
mentors are in different departments (Biological Sciences, Psychology, Statistics, Biomedical Engineering and
Radiology, Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology on the Morningside campus; Neuroscience on the
Manhattanville campus; and Genetics, Ophthalmology, Pathology & Cell Biology, Neurology, Medicine and
Pediatrics on the medical school campus, multiple collaborations on interdisciplinary themes routinely support
training and advances on vision The research carried out by the mentors and trainees matches the goals in
NEI’s strategic plan for eye and vision research, including the Audacious Goals Initiative and 2020 Vision for the
Future. Suppport is sought for up to three years for predoctoral students who have chosen their lab and mentor
in vision studies. Trainees working on thesis projects related to the vision sciences are selected from selective
graduate programs such as the Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior, and Integrated Program in
Cellular, Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, both of which host MD-PhD students. Through activities such as
didactic courses, training in rigor and reproducabilty, thesis committees, symposia, seminars, and the Greater
New York Vision Club (VisioNYC), it is expected that faculty and trainees will interact, collaborate, and produce
a new generation of vision scientists who will elucidate information processing, development, and diseases of
the visual system.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10207095
- **Project number:** 2T32EY013933-21
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Carol A. Mason
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $98,498
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2001-09-30 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10207095

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10207095, Vision Sciences Training Grant (2T32EY013933-21). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10207095. Licensed CC0.

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