# Training Program in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities

> **NIH NIH T32** · CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA · 2024 · $303,323

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
We seek continued funding for an interdisciplinary training program focused on Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
(NDD). Based at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and University of Pennsylvania (Penn), this
program is integrated into the CHOP/Penn Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center and
broader CHOP/Penn neuroscience community. The goal of the Program is to train MD and PhD fellows in
research focused on NDDs. There are three reasons for this focus. First, NDDs are common; ~10% of U.S.
households live with an individual who has an NDD. These households bear significant and often lifelong
financial cost and emotional impact. Second, NDDs have diverse causes — from genetic to acquired — that
alter brain development, circuitry, and behavior. Understanding how these causes lead to the various NDDs will
yield treatments for what are currently untreatable disorders. Third, the symptoms of the various NDDs are
broad and impact all aspects of brain function, requiring interdisciplinary investigation. Training researchers to
improve our understanding of NDDs and ultimately develop treatments will improve outcomes and quality of lives
for individuals with NDDs and their families. Hence, we request continued support for 6 postdoctoral fellows/year
who participate in a program designed to be three years in length. This number of trainees allows us to maintain
a critical mass to support a diverse trainee pool that can learn from each other and is easily justified by the many
outstanding applicants. In the labs of our 29 faculty mentors, trainees use state-of-the-art genetic,
cellular/molecular, behavioral, physiologic, and structural/dynamic imaging techniques to pursue basic and
translational research relevant to NDDs. While the main Program focus is this mentored research training, the
trainees (and their mentors) also regularly meet for activities that develop oral and written communication skills
and encourage exchange of scientific information. They also work with the Program Statistician to build a strong
foundation in quantitative skills and fluency. The Program Directors help trainees develop customized plans to
reach their research and career goals. Our past trainees are now leaders in NDD research across the country.
In the last 15 years, 38 trainees came into the Program with a degree of MD (1), MD/PhD (5), DMV/PhD (1), or
PhD (31). Twenty-four (63%) of these trainees are female and 10 (26%) of these trainees are from groups
historically-excluded from biomedical science and research. Thirty-two different NDD T32 mentors have
supervised these trainees. The 32 trainees who completed both T32 support and postdoc training since 2007
are now faculty members (14 Asst/Assoc Prof), scientists in academia (1 Instruct., 2 Res Assoc.), pharma/biotech
(9), and at a non-profit (1), scientific writers (2) and clinicians (2), and one is the CHOP Assoc. Director of
Diversity. This T32 combines the outstan...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10832576
- **Project number:** 5T32NS007413-27
- **Recipient organization:** CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA
- **Principal Investigator:** AMELIA J EISCH
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $303,323
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1998-07-01 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10832576

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10832576, Training Program in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (5T32NS007413-27). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10832576. Licensed CC0.

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