The goal of this Training Program based at the Department of Epidemiology, UNC School of Public Health is to train innovative and effective researchers in the field of cardiovascular disease (CVD) epidemiology. The program emphasizes interdisciplinary training, and the acquisition of competencies that will enable future investigators to incorporate rapid innovations in the basic sciences and in biotechnology into epidemiologic research. An interdisciplinary training network has been established on the UNC campus to provide such a mix of learning opportunities for trainees, supported by inter-institutional collaborations and partnership commitments for mentored summer internships and trainee exchange. Trainees are encouraged to develop individual training paths and career development models. A process of individualized mentoring, of yearly goal setting, and of periodic evaluations has been developed and tested. These features have been integrated into the proposed training program, supported by a formal mechanism of program management. Career development experiences and skills are built into the yearly goals for both pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainees. The program is structured around a core of applied training in the principles and methods of epidemiologic research, and six areas of emphasis: (1) the study of subclinical atherosclerosis in populations; (2) community surveillance of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases, access to care and disparities in health outcomes; (3) ethnicity, life course socio-economic status and health; (4) familial, genetic and non-genetic determinants of cardiovascular diseases and of their risk factors: (5) infectious and inflammatory components of atherosclerosis and its sequelae, and (6) study implementation, and the ethical conduct of research. Each of these areas of emphasis is supported by experienced faculty, and by ongoing research in the topical areas listed. Four pre-doctoral and four post-doctoral trainee positions are requested, based on the program's current capabilities, its record of placement and retention, and the research productivity of its former trainees. A proactive recruitment of minority individuals into cardiovascular disease epidemiology and of undergraduates -into the population-based health sciences are another feature of this program.
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