? ? The primary goal of this program is to train post-doctoral fellows to conduct research related to changing behavior to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The Brown University Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine (CBPM) provides a wealth of research training experiences to address the most prominent lifestyle risk factors for CVD, cigarette smoking, adverse diet, obesity, and physical inactivity. Specifically, there are opportunities to learn to use multidisciplinary approaches to treat healthy and medically ill populations (e.g. individuals with diabetes; participants in cardiovascular rehabilitation programs), deliver services in unique settings (e.g., emergency departments, neonatal intensive care units, after cardiovascular procedures), and use innovative channels of delivery (Internet, telephone, print) to more efficiently disseminate interventions. There are on-going collaborations between behavioral researchers at the CBPM and faculty in the Brown Department of Medicine and Department of Community Health. Currently funded clinical trials evaluate the effect of behavior change on cardiovascular endpoints, studies of genetic and environmental contributions to health behaviors and CVD, and projects assessing the role of psychosocial factors in cardiovascular disease and adherence to behavior change recommendations. The strength and competitiveness of the research and training programs in the CBPM attract outstanding candidates for research fellowships. Program faculty have an outstanding history of successful mentoring.
Our aim will be to recruit three fellows each year, with two M.D. fellows recruited over the project. Training will be highly individualized with all fellows developing excellent core competencies in areas such as CVD epidemiology, clinical trials related to behavioral risk factors; and research skills. Fellows will also develop a complementary set of specialized competencies specific to their area of research (i.e., tobacco use, obesity, or physical activity). A formal curriculum includes both formal didactics (i.e., coursework and seminars) and mentored research experiences. The mentoring team will be headed by a senior behavioral scientist; with a physician or population scientist and a junior faculty member as secondary mentors. An individual training plan, constructed with the fellow's unique training needs in mind, will outline the competencies, mentoring arrangement, training activities, and objectives for each fellow. Formal mechanisms will be in place to monitor and evaluate each fellow's progress toward developing competencies. We believe the strengths of our faculty, funded research opportunities, and training record make us uniquely qualified to offer this training program in behavior change and CVD. (End of Abstract) ? ? ?
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