This program provides interdisciplinary training in cardiac and vascular cell biology for pre- and postdoctoral students. The program emphasizes the functional properties of cardiac and vascular smooth muscle. Our primary faculty members are from 4 departments/divisions of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute. Reflecting the diversity of faculty backgrounds, the training opportunities are broad and include: the molecular determinants of cardiac and vascular smooth muscle function, molecular structure and function studies of cardiac and vascular smooth muscle proteins, the cell biology of the cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix of cardiac and vascular smooth muscle, the biophysical and physiological analysis of the function of individual cardiac and vascular smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells, and the biomechanical properties of whole tissues and intact organs. Our faculty enjoys a national and international reputation in the study of calcium homeostasis in cardiac and vascular smooth muscle. Our students receive training in these and a variety of related areas including the molecular and functional control of muscle gone expression with emphasis on the use of several complementary techniques to approach each question under investigation. The major aspects of the didactic training consists of two interdisciplinary courses on muscle biology, courses in molecular biology and functional genomics offered by the Center's faculty. We propose 4 predoctoral and 4 postdoctoral trainees for each year of the training program. Entering predoctoral trainees will have a solid background in biology, chemistry and/or physics, excellent GRE scores, research experience and strong letters of recommendation. Incoming postdoctoral trainees will have completed a solid Ph.D. thesis and have strong letters of recommendation. Trainees completing this program will be prepared to bring a wide range of methodological approaches to bear on basic questions in normal cardiac and vascular cell biology, on the underlying mechanisms responsible for a variety of cardiac and vascular pathologies, and on their possible cure and prevention. Therefore, the program fills a national need for expert investigators with multidisciplinary training who can focus on cardiac and vascular muscle biology.
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