This proposal describes a 5-year training plan for the development of a research career in academic surgery. The principal investigator has completed structured training in a surgical research fellowship, general surgery residency, vascular surgery fellowship and endovascular fellowship training. The immediate career goal of the principal investigator is to develop research skills through a mentored training regimen that will lead to independent work in the vascular restenosis research relating to cardiovascular risk factors. The long-term goals of the principal investigator are to establish an independent research program that can combine the knowledge of vascular biology and endovascular therapy to further improve the clinical treatment strategy in vascular disease. The proposed research will investigate the molecular interrelationship between two cardiovascular risk factors homocysteine and hypertension in the development of vascular lesions. Dr. Changyi Chen will mentor the principal investigator's scientific research. Dr. Chen is a well-established investigator with four concurrent NIH R01 research grants, and has mentored numerous postdoctoral fellows and young faculty members. To further enhance the training of the principal investigator, the proposal will enlist the expertise of Dr. Joel Morrisett, who is a Professor in the Department of Medicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Physiology, as well as Dr. Cathy Yao, who is an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery and Microbiology, to provide scientific advice in molecular biology research. The research component will be based on the central hypothesis that hypertension promotes the transport of homocysteine into the vessel wall and hypertension exerts a synergistic effect on homocysteine on vascular cell proliferation, growth factor expression, and vascular lesion formation. The proposed research career development plan has several main components, including coursework in molecular biology and vascular biology, training in advanced molecular biology research techniques, coursework in responsible conduct of research, attending scientific meetings, publishing and presenting research, and a research project which will use the new techniques and knowledge obtained by the principal investigator. The research and training will take place at the Baylor College of Medicine, which is located within the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center in the world. The Department of Surgery provides an ideal environment for training physician scientists by incorporating expertise from diverse resources and strongly encourages young faculty members to pursue independence through interaction with senior faculty mentors.
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