# Vision Science Training Program

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2022 · $172,794

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract:
The Vision Science Training Program (VSTP) has its home in the Stein Eye Institute (SEI), University of
California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine, and has been continuously active for more than 40 years.
During this period the VSTP has trained nearly 140 scientists, a large portion who have gone on to distinguished
careers in vision science. The Program covers the training of both predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows, and
takes place in the laboratories of 17 faculty mentors. These vision scientists possess expertise in a wide range
of disciplines and hold academic appointments in 11 departments at UCLA. Applicants for predoctoral
fellowships first enter UCLA through one of several graduate programs, and they complete the curriculum
associated with that program. After a year of rotations, the predoctoral candidates join the laboratory of a VSTP
mentor. Applicants for postdoctoral fellowships apply directly to the VSTP lab of interest. All trainees that are
members of VSTP labs and of the ophthalmology community at large are invited to participate in the curricular
offerings of this program. These offerings are collectively designed to provide experimental and conceptual
training in vision science, as many of the trainees have no prior experience in vision science. All fellows are
required to take Fundamentals of Vision Research, a quarter-long course organized and taught by VSTP
members. Additionally, fellows are integral members of the scientific environment at SEI through attendance
and participation in a number of events, including the weekly Vision Science Seminar (Distinguished Lecturer)
Series, the Vision Science Journal Club, and the Annual Vision Science Retreat held in Lake Arrowhead. A
more recent focus of the VSTP is the stronger integration of basic and clinical science. Several offerings will
help bridge the gap between these two research focuses by facilitating interactions between the scientists and
the clinicians, including the Annual UCLA Stein Eye Clinical and Research Seminar and Translational Grand
Rounds. Such experiences will help trainees to place their research into the context of visual health and disease.
The VSTP has also instituted formal training in expository writing. An NRSA F31 or F32, and K99/R00
Pathway to Independence grant writing workshop is offered to all SEI trainees in VSTP labs to provide formal
training in how to craft and submit an effective NIH research proposal. Given the interdisciplinary nature
of vision research, the overall goal of the VSTP is to bring together faculty with a wide range of expertise
(including anatomy, biochemistry, biophysics, chemistry, molecular biology, physiology, pharmacology, cell
biology, and developmental biology) to provide interdisciplinary experimental and conceptual training to
predoctoral and postdoctoral candidates seeking to develop careers in vision science. Funding of the VSTP
will permit the SEI to carry on its critical mission o...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10411782
- **Project number:** 2T32EY007026-46
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Alapakkam P Sampath
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $172,794
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 1975-07-01 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10411782

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10411782, Vision Science Training Program (2T32EY007026-46). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10411782. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*