Duke University Medical Center has been engaged in the training of clinicians and scientists in the area of cardiovascular diseases for over 45 years. The philosophy has been to integrate training and research by creating an environment that facilitates the natural linkages among programs and departments throughout the University. By any measure, the program has succeeded in training a generation of outstanding investigators who are now prominent teachers and leaders in academic medicine. Much of this success can be attributed to 30 years of funding of the Cardiovascular Training Program Grant. Our goal is to maintain this history of productivity by creating an environment that will ensure that Duke will continue to contribute to the development of young investigators capable of pursuing successful research careers in cardiovascular fields. This application is a competitive renewal for our long-standing Cardiovascular Training Program Grant. In the last 5 years, the PI has implemented a number of substantial changes to our program in an effort to significantly enhance the educational and research experience of our trainees. Some examples of changes that have been made to our program include: 1) Creation of the Medical Genetics Training Program - 2-year didactic course work during research fellowship culminating in a Masters Degree from the School of Medicine, 2) Creation of a weekly seminar series on grant writing and mentoring in the summer of each year, 3) Institution of regular written evaluations of mentors by trainees and of trainees by mentors, and 4) Creation of a two-month basic science elective during the first year of the clinical fellowship program for all fellows as an introduction to the basic sciences. The goal of this program is to continue our training of talented Physician-Scientists by creating an environment that will ensure the development of our young trainees into highly successful and innovative independent investigators.
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