This UCSD-NHLBI Translational Cardiovascular Science and Medicine Training Program is designed to develop highly qualified Ph.D./Postdoctoral Fellows, and Physician/Scientists that have been training at the forefront of cardiovascular science and medicine. The Program incorporates several of the top molecular scientists in the La Jolla scientific community at our three neighboring Institutions, including The Salk Institute, Scripps Research Foundation, and the Burnham Institute. In every case, these scientists hold cross-appointments with UCSD, have a history of active participating in the IMM program and are currently collaborating with investigators at UCSD toward scientific and technological advances that will have a direct impact on our understanding of cardiovascular diseases. Thus, the Program will promote the cross-fertilization between Institutions and fields, while maintaining a strict focus on cardiovascular biology and medicine. In this manner, the Program will eventually allow future opportunities to translate new developments in molecular cardiovascular sciences into therapeutic and prognostic capabilities in clinical cardiology. Accordingly, the objectives are: 1) To identify, recruit, and training highly qualified, accomplished, and committed Ph.D. postdoctoral fellows, and M.D and combined degree M.D./Ph.D. fellows with a sincere interest in translational cardiovascular science and medicine; 2) To harness the strengths of the most advanced technologies to understand the mechanistic basis of key aspects of cardiovascular biology and disease; 3) To translate these fundamental findings into new therapeutic, diagnostic, and prognostic advances in the mainstream of clinical cardiology, by creating direct collaborations amongst clinical cardiovascular scientists, basic cardiovascular scientists, and existing scientific strengths in genetics, molecular/cellular biology, and bioengineering on the UCSD campus and within the La Jolla scientific community.
