The University of Virginia School of Medicine and Department of Pediatrics have a long track record in and commitment to training independent basic and clinical investigators. This has been established because of strong interactions and collaborations between basic science and clinical science departments. The training of both M.D. and Ph.D. scientists is greatly enhanced when there is cross fertilization and close interaction between groups. The Ph.D. trainees offer M.D. trainees a basic science perspective to approaching problems while M.D. trainees bring a clinical perspective that foster translational research. This proposal bring together the strengths in cardiovascular training of the Department of Pediatrics and the School of Medicine to train both Clinician Investigators and Ph.D. Basic Scientists. The Department of Pediatrics has an outstanding record of training academic pediatricians, particularly within the Divisions of Cardiology and Nephrology. In the school of Medicine, the Cardiovascular Research Center and Basic Science departments provide a group of state-of-the- art investigators and facilities for training. This program will fill a growing need for research in pediatric fields and offer cardiovascular research training to M.D.s engaged in pediatric subspecialty training in Cardiology or Nephrology and to postdoctoral Ph.D. scientists interested in clinically directed basic science and translational research. The executive committee of this program will provide structure and guidance for training and the well-established Fellows Training Program within Pediatrics will provide further didactic training and will foster an identity for the trainees. The Mentors in this grant have a productive record of collaboration in both research and research training for over ten years. Training will involve close work with a primary mentor and collaboration with other mentors. Graduate-level courses and multiple research centers including the NIH Center of Excellence in Pediatric Nephrology and the Cardiovascular Research Center will provide further opportunities for both formal and informal training. This program offers a strong multidisciplinary approach to training clinical and basic scientists interested in pediatric cardiovascular research.
