? ? This competing renewal of HL07954, """"""""Multidisciplinary Training in Cardiovascular Biology"""""""" is centered in the Institute for Medicine and Engineering (IME) at the University of Pennsylvania. The IME bridges the School of Medicine (SOM) to the physical, engineering and computational sciences principally in the School of Engineering (SEAS). The Institute's modern research labs and core laboratory facilities are adjacent to both SOM and SEAS. The grant renewal will support 6 pre- and 7 postdoctoral trainees in interdisciplinary cardiovascular pathophysiology. Eighteen principal faculty (all IME members), representing 11 departments distributed across Penn's SOM, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, and SEAS, conduct basic and/or clinical Cardiovascular research including device development and translational research. The principal training faculty (9 Professors, 5 Associate Professors, and 4 outstanding Assistant Professors) have been awarded more than $50m (direct costs) of Federal research grants over the past 5 years. Complementary hypothesis-driven and design-driven-discovery approaches to cardiovascular research are integrated to operate across a full spectrum of scales from the molecular to in vivo. This integration of quantitative sciences with fundamental biomedical research is leading to new applications as reflected in' patent disclosures and filings. During the past 4+ years, the program has successfully supported 8 slots involving 16 trainees who have authored 42 papers in leading journals including Science and PNAS. The renewal proposes a modest increase in slots with one specifically designated for a translational Clinical Fellow. An additional Clinical Fellow slot is requested for years 2-5. Two years of support are normally provided to each trainee, conditional on satisfactory progress. Trainees are selected in competitive review by an Executive Committee of 7 faculty that is representative of the interdisciplinary nature of the program. Trainee selections are made on the basis of academic record, quality of research abilities, and commitment to research in interdisciplinary cardiovascular biology. Three members of an External Advisory Committee visit and review the program periodically. Postdoctoral trainees (M.D.and/or Ph.D.) are expected to develop significant independence during their training period. Both group and individual mentorship in grant-writing and career development are provided. Predoctoral trainees (including MD-PhD students) are registered in one of the graduate programs of the Biomedical Graduate Group in the SOM or in select Graduate Groups of the SEAS (Bioengineering, Chemical/Biomolecular Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering). Predoctoral trainees complete at least one, and usually several, courses in cardiovascular-related engineering. All trainees are required to attend and participate in the benchmark Interdisciplinary Seminar Series (>40 lectures/year) and a biweekly Chalk Talk series that operate 11 months of the year, and to complete training in the responsible conduct of research. Women (6 trainees; 13 of 42 papers) and Minority (1 trainee; 9 of 42 publications) representation is strongly addressed. Novel strategies to attract new minority trainees have been implemented. (END OF ABSTRACT) ? ? ?
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