Training Program

Training Program

Depending on graduate training and background, fellows will be asked to audit graduate level courses in general immunology, an immunology laboratory course, and an advanced seminar course in immunology in the Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics. They may also be asked to audit a course in biochemistry, depending upon their background, if they have not had these courses previously. Fellows who lack a background in neuroscience will audit a course in structure and function of the nervous system. In addition, if an individual’s background in statistics and experimental design is not adequate, appropriate courses in those areas will also be audited.  Decisions for which courses to be audited will be made in conjunction with the fellow and the preceptor.

Throughout the training period, interactions are maximized with other trainees and with the training faculty. A biweekly journal club is organized by the postdoctoral fellows support interactions among faculty, graduate students, staff and fellows. Fellows are also encouraged to attend the weekly Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics seminar series, the Ohio State University Immunology seminar series, and selected lectures in the Department of Psychology seminar series. In addition, NIH guidelines require that postdoctoral fellows become aware of scientific misconduct and ethic issues. The Office of Health Sciences Research organizes an annual workshop in scientific misconduct and ethical issues in science, which the postdoctoral fellow attend.

Preceptors are matched with fellows as well as current availability of subjects/animal studies and funding. Fellows generally work on multiple studies during their training period, these studies have a strong interdisciplinary focus and have immunological neuroscience, molecular/biochemical and behavioral components.