Research Training Program Description

The Program Director, Charles A. Czeisler, PhD, MD, is chair of the Education and Training Committee, consisting of all preceptors who assist in the administration of the Training Program. The Education and Training Committee meets at least twice annually to review reports on the work and progress of four standing sub-committees: Trainee Selection, Curriculum Development, Minority Recruitment and Tracking and Evaluation. For more information on committee structure and responsibilities, please visit the Faculty Committees of the Training Program page.

The Postdoctoral Training Program is divided into three components: (1) core required courses and activities; (2) elective courses and activities; and (3) research mentored by an experienced preceptor, sometimes together with an Associate Preceptor. Close monitoring and interaction among the Program Director, the Education and Training Committee and its three standing sub-committees, participating preceptors and trainees, ensures programmatic integrity. The structure of our Training Program is based on the thesis that the most important aspect of research training is the intense involvement of trainees in research under close supervision of faculty preceptors, after and during the establishment of a core body of knowledge relevant to the particular area of research in which the trainee wishes to receive his/her training. An important dividend of the Training Program is that the trainees themselves contribute to the fabric of the academic environment with their collaborations, diverse backgrounds and interests. Accommodating the trainees’ research interests often serves as a catalyst to bring two or more areas of research and faculty together, leading to an enriched experience for all members of the Division of Sleep Medicine.
Link to Postdoctoral Trainee Program Requirements and Academic Guidelines 

The pre-doctoral Training Program consists of core-required courses and activities, elective courses and activities, and an intensive research experience. Cross-discipline research is promoted, as exemplified by the collaborations that already exist among the preceptors. The Program exists in parallel with the student’s training that they receive at the University in which they are enrolled, and is designed to provide a structured, comprehensive program to train outstanding individuals for eventual academic positions in the broad field of Sleep Disorders Medicine with specific expertise in basic science, patient-oriented or applied research. By design, many pre-doctoral students enroll in our Sleep, Circadian and Respiratory Neurobiology Training Program from the Harvard Medical School Program in Neuroscience. 

The faculty preceptors who mentor pre-doctoral research training provide trainees with the opportunity to participate directly in on-going experimental studies in many diverse areas of sleep, circadian and respiratory neurobiology from molecular genetics to patient-oriented applied research. The structure of our pre-doctoral training program, as with postdoctoral research, is based on the concept that the most important aspect of training is the intense involvement of trainees in research under close supervision of faculty preceptors, after the establishment of a core body of knowledge relevant to the particular area of research in which the trainee wishes to receive his/her training. 
Link to Pre-doctoral Trainee Program Requirements and Academic Guidelines
 

The goal of our Summer Medical Student Training Program is to increase the number of individuals involved in biomedical research, and more specifically, to identify, recruit and train talented students in the field of sleep, circadian and respiratory neurobiology. 

Through this Training Program, medical school students have the opportunity to participate in a 2- to 3-month summer research training experience working in the laboratory of a program preceptor. This program is designed to provide trainees with experience in many aspects of the research process in a short period. The student is matched to a specific mentor, based on the interests of the student. The varied faculty offer expert training in a broad scope of disciplines within the field of sleep, circadian and respiratory neurobiology research that is available, incorporating physiology and pathophysiology in both humans and experimental animals as well as molecular and genetic approaches to the study of sleep and circadian rhythm disorders. After matching with a specific mentor, the student has a structured research internship with the ultimate goal of encouraging outstanding individuals to consider academic positions in sleep and circadian research: which can be basic science, patient-oriented or applied research. The rich academic environment of this Training Program provides a ready resource for the development of an individually tailored didactic program to support the overall goals of the Program and the enrolled students.

Link to Summer Medical Student Program Requirements and Guidelines