The long-term objective of the Hopkins HIV and Heart, Lung, Blood and Sleep Disorders Training Program (H3TP) is to train and develop a cadre of outstanding investigators who will advance knowledge and improve outcomes for people living with HIV infection (PLWH) and comorbid heart, lung, blood and sleep (HLBS) disorders. This goal is directly relevant to the NHLBI mission and to the Office of AIDS Research high priority research issues to address comorbidities in the setting of aging with HIV. In this new K-12 proposal, we will be accomplish this objective through implementation of the following Specific Aims: (1) Provide a rigorous, mentored training experience for postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty to develop a research niche in HLBS comorbidities in HIV; (2) Utilize the rich resources available to Johns Hopkins HIV HLBS investigators to access data on well-characterized patient and cohort populations to enable trainee projects to be rapidly initiated and executed; (3) Provide access to outstanding methodologic and analytic expertise to facilitate research success; (4) Engage trainees in high caliber collaborative research projects that address important questions and test meaningful hypotheses under the supervision of nationally-renowned multi- disciplinary faculty; (5) Integrate multi-layered and individualized mentorship for each trainee to develop meaningful scholarship and a successful investigative career; and (6) Assess the outcomes of the program and make modifications to maximize its success. In this proposal, we leverage the outstanding community of HIV and HLBS research at Johns Hopkins including existing clinical and translational infrastructure to support training and research, highly productive program faculty, vibrant interdepartmental and interdivisional multidisciplinary collaborations, excellent institutional commitment to high level training of postdoctoral and early stage investigators. With these program characteristics, we anticipate a robust pool of candidates and outstanding outcomes for our trainees. Our program combines intensive training in a single area of investigation within a matrix of multidisciplinary collaborations and will support post-doctoral and entry-level faculty trainees for 1-3 years. A wide range of training opportunities are provided by a large interactive network of faculty supported by a substantial grant portfolio. The core of the experience is the close relationship between a primary mentor, co-mentors, and the trainee around specific research projects. A personalized training experience, guided through use of individual development plans, will be supplemented by formal course work which can lead to a graduate degree, and a series of enrichment activities including participation in a core H3TP forum, peer learning with a cohort of similar- staged trainees, individualized conferences, training in responsible research conduct, career planning, grant writing, and manuscript preparation. Multiple points of feedback and monitoring of process measures will inform and guide our newly constituted program to ensure our objectives are achieved.
With persons living with HIV surviving into older ages, chronic heart, lung, blood and sleep (HLBS) disorders are increasingly important and there is a growing need for well-trained investigators to understand how HIV can contribute to HLBS diseases. The Hopkins HIV HLBS Training Program provides a foundation for early stage investigators to conduct multidisciplinary research on HIV and HLBS and to solidify their clinical or translational research skills in a supportive, mentoring environment. The goal of this program is to train highly qualified individuals to be future leaders in the study and management of HIV and these comorbidities.
