? ? The broad, long-term objectives of this 5-year career development program are (1) to define more clearly relationships of dietary fatty acids with cardiovascular health; and (2) to gain the further training, knowledge, and funding necessary for success as an independent research investigator. The research objectives will be achieved via investigation using prospectively collected data from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS), the Nurses Health Study (NHS), the Nurses Health Study 2 (NHS2), the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), the Estrogen Replacement and Atherosclerosis (ERA) trial, and the Heart Failure Study (HFS). The training objectives will be achieved via formal coursework in nutritional and cardiovascular epidemiology in the doctorate (DrPH) program in epidemiology; participation in conferences, seminars, and national meetings; and mentoring by recognized leaders in the fields of nutritional and cardiovascular epidemiology. An outstanding team of mentors and collaborators will facilitate and guide the candidate's research and career development. The primary mentor for the candidate's scientific development is Dr. Eric Rimm, a leader in the field of nutritional cardiovascular epidemiology. To further enhance the training, the career development program has enlisted the expertise of Dr. David Siscovick, a leader in research on fatty acids and cardiovascular disease; Dr. David Herrington, a leader in research on cardiovascular risk with expertise in assessment of angiographic progression; and Dr. Wayne Levy, a cardiologist with extensive research experience in heart failure and a particular interest in immune and inflammatory activation.
The specific aims of this proposal are (1) to investigate whether polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat, carbohydrate, or protein is the most effective replacement for saturated fat with regards to progression of coronary atherosclerosis and risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) events; (2) to investigate the separate and combined effects of n-6, n-3, and trans-fatty acids on progression of coronary atherosclerosis, risk of CHD events, and markers of immune and inflammatory activation related to cardiovascular disease; and (3) to begin preliminary investigation of relationships of n-3 fatty acids with atrial fibrillation and heart failure, about which very little is known. The Channing Laboratory in the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health provide an ideal environment for training this candidate for a career in independent research investigation, combining leading researchers in nutritional and cardiovascular epidemiology, an exceptional fund of high-quality data being generated in several large, long-running cohort studies, and advanced training in nutritional, biostatistical, and epidemiologic methodology. (End of Abstract) ? ? ? ? ?
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