The Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders

The Neurobiology of Aging Training Grant was started at the University of California, Irvine in 1983 and has been funded uninterruptedly ever since. This Aging Training Grant provides high quality research training for select graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to prepare them for successful independent careers on the basic mechanisms in the neurobiology of aging. The program is designed to provide multidisciplinary training to better understand the basic neural events underlying successful aging, its maintenance and plasticity, the key events that compromise higher cognitive function and lead to Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related neurodegenerative disorders.

The training grant faculty consists of senior and junior investigators recognized for their expertise in key areas of the neurobiology of aging, ranging from clinical to basic science. Our faculty are dedicated to high quality training in the field. The program includes preceptors from departments in the Schools of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Engineering, and Medicine, which enables students to receive training in new emerging areas. The training program continues to evolve to include training in several new technologies that range from genomics and proteomics to development and characterization of genetically-modified mouse models and higher animal models and their application to the neurobiology of aging. The program offers research opportunities for the study of postmortem human tissues and clinical-pathological studies that translate basic findings to the clinical setting. The training program involves hands on experience, a Brain Aging seminar series, specialized didactic training, and individualized training and community awareness. The program has a solid track record of producing quality scientists who enter academia or apply their training and knowledge in industry to address a challenging and serious health problem for the nation and our growing senior population.

Examples of Graduate Courses Revelant to the Neurobiology of Aging:

NB 237 Neurobiology of Brain Aging (4). Lecture, three hours. Outlines some of the significant changes that occur in the aging brain, with a special emphasis on risk factors and protective strategies that promote successful brain aging. Topics include changes in synaptic plasticity, neurotrophic factors, and molecular mechanisms in aging. Prerequisite: Neurobiology and Behavior 209.

NB245 Advanced Topics in the Neurobiology of Aging (4). Lecture and seminar, three hours. Covers the major topics and rapidly advancing areas in the molecular and cellular events leading to brain aging and dementia. Lectures are presented by investigators active in the fields of aging and neurodegeneration. Prerequisite: Neurobiology and Behavior graduate student or consent of instructor.

NB251 Clinical Neurology for Neuroscientists (4). Lecture and seminar, three hours. Presentation of problems of clinical neurology through patient presentation, examination, and discussion. Patients with lesions or defects at various levels of the nervous system are examined. Prerequisite: Neurobiology and Behavior graduate student or consent of instructor.

NB258 Advanced Analysis of Neurogenetics (4). Lecture and seminar, three hours. Analysis of the genetic basis of neurological development and disorders. Emphasis on the approaches used to identify novel, neurologically relevant genes and analysis on the molecular level. Focuses on understanding how genetic changes alter cellular functions and the clinical consequences that ensue. Prerequisite: Neurobiology and Behavior graduate student or consent of instructor.

Training Grant Preceptors

Carl Cotman Training Grant Director, Neurology, Neurobiology and Behavior	Brain plasticity mechanisms during aging and AD
Michael Agadjanyan Professor Institute for Molecular Medicine	Development of safe and effective vaccine/immunotherapy against AD
Jorge Busciglio Associate Professor Neurobiology and Behavior	Molecular basis of neuronal dysfunction and death in Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease.
Lawrence Cahill Associate Professor Neurobiology and Behavior	Neural mechanisms by which emotional arousal influences memory in men and women
Thomas Carew Professor & Chair Neurobiology and Behavior	Cellular and molecular analysis of aging in the model system Aplysia
Richard Chamberlin Professor Chemistry	Computer-aided ligand design and organic synthesis of small molecules to selectively modulate neuronal signaling proteins
Susan Charles Associate Professor Psychology and Social Behavior	Older adults’ emotion-regulation mechanisms
Steven Cramer Associate Professor Neurology	Functional recovery after injury to the human brain, particularly stroke
David Cribbs Professor Neurology	Immunotherapy approaches for preventing and treating AD
Christine Gall Professor Anatomy and Neurobiology	Effect of age on synaptic plasticity and endogenous neurotrophin regulation
Charles Glabe Professor Molecular Biology and Biochemistry	Amyloid structure, aggregation, and pathogenesis mechanisms in degenerative diseases
John F. Guzowski Assistant Professor Neurobiology and Behavior	Cellular and molecular processes in cognition and memory storage in brain aging
James Hall Professor Physiology	Effects of Aß on cell membrane biophysical properties
NooLi Jeon Assistant Professor Biomedical Engineering	Novel Microfluidic cell culture approaches for research on neurons and glial cells
Claudia Kawas Professor Neurology; Neurobiology & Behavior	Epidemiological and clinical-pathological investigations of dementia and aging, particularly the “oldest old.”
Frank M. LaFerla Chancellor’s Professor & Institute Director Neurobiology and Behavior	Molecular pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease though the development and analysis of transgenic animal models
Ira Lott Professor Pediatrics	Clinical and neurobiological studies on Down syndrome.
Gary Lynch Professor Psychiatry and Human Behavior	Identification of cellular mechanisms that mediate the consolidation of long-term potentiation (LTP) and memory in the adult and aged brain
John F. Marshall Professor Neurobiology and Behavior	Basal ganglia function in relationship to aging and neurodegenerative diseases, and addiction
James L. McGaugh Professor Neurobiology and Behavior	Neuromodulatory systems (including stress hormones and neurotransmitters) in regulating memory storage.
Edwin Monuki Associate Professor Pathology	Unraveling neural stem cells of the cerebral cortex and hippocampus
Robert Moyzis Professor Biological Chemistry	Gene polymorphisms in brain aging and dementia
Jogeshwar Mukherjee Associate Professor Psychiatry and Human Behavior	PET ligands for studying AD pathology
James Nowick Professor Chemistry	Protein aggregation processes associated with neurodegenerative
Michael Rugg Professor Neurobiology and Behavior	Episodic memory in the adult and aging brain
Arnold Starr Professor Neurology	Cortical and cognitive functions accompanying normal aging and mild cognitive impairment (MCI)
Andrea Tenner Professor Molecular Biology & Biochemistry	Role of complement and inflammation in Alzheimer's disease
Leslie M. Thompson Professor Psychiatry and Human Behavior	Pathogenic mechanisms in Huntington’s disease
Douglas C. Wallace Professor Biological Chemistry	Mitochondrial function and genes in brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases
Marcelo A. Wood Assistant Professor Neurobiology and Behavior	Activity-dependent signal integration and coordinate gene expression for memory processes

NIA Training Grant:

Examples of Graduate Courses Revelant to the Neurobiology of Aging:

Training Grant Preceptors