ABSTRACT. The goal of the T32-Funded Molecular Biology (MOLB) Program at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is to train outstanding research scientists and academicians who will become future leaders in their chosen fields and disciplines. As part of this this goal, we teamed up with Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome to train new high-quality scientist dedicated in pursuing biomedical research to enhance our understanding about the causes and potential treatments of Down Syndrome. Our training program is flexible and student-oriented to meet individual needs, with a rigorous curriculum and high standards. Ph.D. in Molecular Biology is designed as a 5-6 year program with rigorous and challenging course work and research thesis. To further develop their skills, all trainees supported by INCLUDE Supplement will attend monthly Crnic Supergroup research meetings, will present and discuss results of their own project at one such meeting, and will attend the annual Crnic Symposium. As the result, trainees will be exposed to multi-disciplinary approaches to studying DS which will complement their training by their thesis Mentors. Trainees supported by this supplement will also participate in all the activities that are designed for other MOLB T32 awardees, namely organizing annual MOLB Symposium and Retreat as well as running monthly “Roundtables” discussion forum. Finally, all three trainees supported by this supplement will present their work during MOLB Annual Retreat during special “Down Syndrome” session. Given the depth, quality, and diversity of our student pool and our demonstrated ability to train high quality students, we request 4 students be supported for one year as part of INCLUDE Supplement.

The University of Colorado is home to one of the only academic centers fully devoted to Down syndrome (DS) research, the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome (Crnic Institute) and MOLB T32 Training program closely collaborates with Crnic Institute to advance biomedical research in DS. The main objective of this proposal is to work with Crnic Institute in training of high quality, passionate PhD scientists who have learned to think critically and independently and are dedicated in pursuing careers in studying DS.