# Postdoctoral Training in Vision Research

> **NIH NIH T32** · SMITH-KETTLEWELL EYE RESEARCH INSTITUTE · 2022 · $75,048

## Abstract

Abstract
This supplement to our T32 requests funding for a second year of training (level-1 postdoctoral Fellow) for
each Fellow funded by our current T32. This will provide a two-year appointment for each of 4
Fellows. Due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and NIH budget constraints, our original proposal was reduced to
one 0-level Fellow in each of years 6-10, allowing for only one year of training for each Fellow. Although
we are cognizant of the intent to obtain additional funding for our Fellows, and this is an originally stated goal of
our program, it is highly unlikely that a fellow can obtain independent funding (even additional fellowship
funding) by the end of the first year of training. This supplement request is to restore funding in years 7-10 for
the second year of training for each of the 4 currently funded one-year fellowship positions.
The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute (SKERI) Institutional Training Grant provides training in basic,
clinical, and rehabilitation science relevant to translational vision research. Eighteen faculty whose expertise
spans the areas of spatial and binocular vision, eye movements, strabismus, central vision loss, low vision and
blindness rehabilitation, computer vision and assistive technology are available to train the postdoctoral
fellows. The goal of the Fellowship program is to transition postdoctoral fellows towards independent
research careers by the end of their 2-year fellowship. To this end, the program encourages the Fellow to
develop an independent research project in collaboration with the mentor, to test and hone these ideas, and
distill them into a grant proposal. The training will also provide a solid grounding in rigor and reproducibility and
in the responsible conduct of research, as well as frequent and wide-ranging seminars, journal clubs, and
colloquia. Because the vast majority of SKERI Faculty are full-time researchers with no teaching duties and
small laboratories, the Fellows experience a great deal of direct interaction with their sponsors. The Faculty-
Fellow interactions represent all areas of the research process: proposal, critique, performance, and
communication of findings through the writing of papers and preparation of presentations, as well as
participation in scientific and ethics seminars. The Fellowship program forms a critical component of the
research vitality and capacity of SKERI. Because SKERI is not a degree-granting institution, its investigators
do not typically have graduate students. It is widely appreciated within the Institute that Fellows bring in new
ideas and techniques to the preceptors’ laboratories. The process of training Fellows encourages Faculty to
challenge old assumptions, to develop clear and concise descriptions of why a given research activity is of
significance, and to expand the range of approaches to research problems. The T32 Program will significantly
augment SKERI’s internally funded Rachel C. Atkinson Fellowship, C.V. Starr Scholar...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10594943
- **Project number:** 3T32EY025201-07S1
- **Recipient organization:** SMITH-KETTLEWELL EYE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** Preeti Verghese
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $75,048
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2016-04-01 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10594943

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10594943, Postdoctoral Training in Vision Research (3T32EY025201-07S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10594943. Licensed CC0.

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