Fellowships
2002 Lions of Virginia Fellowships for
Undergraduate Research in Auditory
Lion's Foundation of Virginia Fellowships
Regeneration and stem cell proliferation hold hope
for millions of people affected by permanent hearing loss and balance
dysfunctions. Those conditions have been considered irreversible,
because the production of neuroepithelial sensory cells ends in humans
before birth.But fish, amphibians, and birds will spontaneously recover
hearing and balance functions after experiencing damage that would be
permanent for a human.That recovery results from the regeneration and
reinnervation of new sensory cells and it has been found that limited
regeneration occurs in the hearing organs of mammalian embryos and in
the balance organs of juvenile and mature mammals, including those from
adult humans. Potential projects could utilize species ranging
from zebrafish to mammals and address hair cell development and
regeneration through in vitro and in vivo approaches
The Lions fellowships will provide summer research
stipends of $4,000 as well as an annual allowance of $1,000 for
research supplies or equipment and an annual travel allowance of up to
$1,000 to underwrite attendance at a national scientific
meeting. The successful applicants will be expected to conduct
research during ten weeks of the summer and will receive academic
credit for continued research during the fall and spring
semesters. Each Lions Research
Fellow will be encouraged to publish research or to write a research
report annually.
Eligibility: Undergraduate science majors
who have maintained at least 3.4 GPA at the University of
Virginia.
Applications are
available at: www.virginia.edu/artsandsciences/fellowships
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