This is a competing continuation application for renewal of a training program in cardiovascular research that was first funded in 1979. Since the last competitive renewal, 18 trainees have been supported of whom 17 are in full-time academic positions or still in training. One is a scientific editor at Cell press. Five have garnered independent extramural funding, and four now hold faculty positions. The goal of this program is to train young researchers committed to careers in investigative cardiology or allied fields, and to provide them with the skills needed for success in modern multi-disciplinary research environments encompassing basic, translational, and/or clinical research. Trainees may be MDs, MD-PhDs or PhDs who have finished clinical or graduate training and are seeking further research training in cardiology. Important elements of the curriculum are supervision by faculty advisors, team mentoring to provide multiple perspectives on career and research decisions, individualized and common didactic curricula, formal mechanisms for bi-directional feedback and communication, as well as clearly defined expectations and milestones for trainees and mentors. Dr. Anthony Rosenzweig is the Program Director and Drs. Murray Mittleman and Peter Oettgen are the Associate Program Directors, providing senior leadership from diverse disciplines with a longstanding commitment to mentoring. A Steering Committee comprised of basic and clinical faculty selects trainees from a large pool of candidates, and monitors individual and programmatic progress. An External Advisory Committee ensures that the program remains current and responsive to rapid changes in the research environment. The training program benefits from strong institutional support and infrastructure, including those within the Cardiovascular Division, the Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and the Harvard School of Public Health. The Harvard Medical School Clinical and Translational Science Center (Catalyst) further enhances research, training, and didactic opportunities in clinical and translational investigation. The BIDMC Cardiovascular Division, in general, and this T32 Training Grant, in particular, have a long and successful track record of training cardiovascular investigators. With this application, we seek to continue and enhance this tradition.
This program will address critical issues in cardiovascular medicine: the dwindling supply of well-trained clinical and basic researchers focused on cardiovascular disease, and the need for investigators who can thrive in the multi-disciplinary environments essential to current research approaches. Our ultimate goal is to produce investigators who can not only compete successfully for extramural funding and faculty positions but who can make substantive contributions to the understanding and treatment of cardiovascular disease, which remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States.
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