Accelerating training for academic neuroscientists in drug discovery through neurotherapeutics short course

In 2010, the NIH Blueprint Grand Challenge for Neurotherapeutics was launched to support labs in the development of effective treatments for neurological disorders. We’ve already highlighted the notable programs sparked by this Grand Challenge: Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network for Small Molecules (BPN-Small Molecules) and BPN-Biologics. In 2012, NIH Blueprint developed an NIH Research Education Program (R25) focused on short courses on neurotherapeutics development for academic scientists as another strategy to address the Blueprint Grand Challenge for Neurotherapeutics.

Through this NIH Blueprint funding opportunity (RFA-NS-21-025, a reissue of RFA-NS-12-001 and RFA-NS-16-017), the short courses provide participants with a sufficient overview of the neurotherapeutics development process to (1) understand the steps required for therapeutics development, (2) anticipate and overcome common challenges in the process, and (3) interact effectively with collaborators who have expertise in various aspects of therapeutics development. Since 2012, one educational program on neurotherapeutics development has been funded. Drs. Michael Rogawski of the University of California at Davis and Barbara Slusher of John Hopkins University developed the course and a four-day program. The program aims to provide students with a broad understanding of the various component steps in the neurotherapeutics drug discovery and development process and includes a combination of didactic lectures and active engagement activities that cover topics like: how to identify a good drug discovery target; how to construct an assay; the elements of medicinal chemistry; how to conduct animal efficacy testing;?the principles of intellectual property as they relate to neurotherapeutics discovery and development; how to seek funding for academic drug discovery research, and more. The course is designed for faculty members and advanced postdoctoral fellows, and after attending the short course, participants are invited to join ongoing professional development activities.

For more information on past and present training opportunities funded by the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, please visit the training webpage: Training Overview | Blueprint (nih.gov) #NIHBlueprint20??