This is a resubmission application for the Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine Research Training grant (HL07560), continuously funded since 1983. The purposes of our program are to provide advanced training in cardiovascular behavioral medicine research methods and knowledge to postdoctoral and predoctoral fellows. Specifically, our training program for the postdoctoral and predoctoral trainees is designed to foster proficiency in four distinct areas: ? Principles of behavior and behavior change, through which the theoretical underpinnings of behavioral risk factors are understood and interventions designed. ? Research methods and statistics, whereby the skills necessary for designing and conducting research and for drawing valid inferences from empirical data are developed, with exposure to analytic approaches to complex longitudinal data. ? Cardiovascular physiology and psychophysiology, through which an understanding is established of the cardiovascular and metabolic functioning in the healthy human. ? Cardiovascular diseases, including disparities among populations and principles of pathophysiology as related to disorders of the heart and vasculature and state of the art approaches to assessing biomarkers of risk and imaging subclinical and clinical cardiovascular diseases. Based on these foundations, our program facilitates the development of independent clinical research scientists who take a multidisciplinary approach within the following three primary areas of concentration: mechanistic pathways, determinants and consequences of health behaviors; and behavioral interventions to reduce cardiovascular risk. These areas and program goals align themselves closely with the NHLBI special programmatic emphases for training and the NHLBI Strategic vision for research in the next 5 to 10 years, and fill an important niche in the NHLBI T32 portfolio. Our training program benefits from the participation of enthusiastic and committed faculty who mentor our trainees from the Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology, Medicine, Health and Physical Activity, and Epidemiology and newly appointed training faculty who are physician scientists. The diverse faculty provide collaborative and innovative research training in the above three primary areas. Our program also benefits from the availability of appropriate course offerings; the history of multidisciplinary research and training efforts by the above departments; and training resources at the University of Pittsburgh?s School of Medicine, including the Clinical and Translational Science Research Institute, and Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Support is requested to continue the program at the level of 4 postdoctoral and 4 predoctoral trainees.
The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 50% of mortality from the 10 leading causes of death in the United States can be traced to enduring patterns of individual behaviors, e.g., maladaptive responses to stress, depression and anxiety, and health behaviors. To further understand and prevent the leading cause of death, cardiovascular disease, the United States needs to invest in training scientists who conduct high quality, innovative research on the interface of psychology, cardiology, and public health. To address this need, our program is dedicated to providing advanced training in cardiovascular behavioral medicine research.
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