The integration of our scientific knowledge of cardiovascular function at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels is critical to impacting cardiovascular disease in humans. As our insight into molecular and cellular processes has grown, emphasis in many Ph.D. training programs has shifted away from integrated (whole animal or systems) biology. The lack of an available scientific workforce with an understanding of integrated biology, including drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, and an appreciation of the unique challenges of working in intact organisms will delay the application of discoveries at the molecular and cellular levels to human disease. This training program addresses a critical need for scientists trained in the integrated biology of the cardiovascular system. Our program uses existing strengths in the Department of Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University and key collaborators who direct well established research programs in cardiovascular pharmacology and biology. The primary activity of trainees is research training on issues related to cardiovascular function and disease under the direction of an individual faculty mentor. The usual duration of training is 2-3 years and fellows with Ph.D. and M.D. degrees will be supported. Research training is supplemented with focused didactic lectures on drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, cardiovascular physiology, and cardiovascular pharmacology (all part of the existing core curriculum of the Predoctoral Pharmacology Training Program). Fellows will be required to participate in Responsibility in Research training and weekly seminar series in Experimental Therapeutics, Cardiovascular Medicine, and Pharmacology. Trainees may elect to participate in the Vanderbilt Master of Science in Clinical Investigation Program. Our specific goals are to provide trainees with expertise in the integrated biology of the cardiovascular system, encourage collaboration between laboratories using whole animal and molecular approaches, and develop scientists trained to participate in drug discovery and drug development in the cardiovascular system. Our overall goal is to train scientists who will be leaders in academia, industry, or regulatory affairs.
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