While cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the US, the mortality burden of specific diseases has changed over the last few decades. Despite a decline in death rates for coronary artery disease since 1970, heart failure (HF) prevalence and mortality have increased. The expanded clinical burden, prognostic import, and health needs related to HF highlight the importance of complementary training of teams of basic, clinical, and population scientists. Hence, we propose the Basic and Translational Science in Heart Failure (BTSHF) Training Program, designed to specifically mentor clinical and research post-doctoral trainees in broad aspects of HF pathophysiology (disease mechanisms), diagnostics (biomarkers and imaging), therapeutics (pharmacological, biological, devices), epidemiology (population science, personalized medicine, and clinical outcomes), as well as relevant methodologies (disease models, stem cells, ?omics? approaches, and biostatistics). At the heart of the training program reside three thematic cores - Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms; New Diagnostics and Therapeutics; and Clinical Epidemiology and Outcomes. In close collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Office of Postdoctoral Education and Center for Clinical and Translational Science, the 2 to 3 year BTSHF training program has been specifically tailored to foster the development of future translational researchers with scientific interests in HF. This includes establishment of a new interdisciplinary didactic course that exposes trainees to cutting edge scientific techniques (e.g., non-invasive imaging, translational study design, large data set analysis) and concepts (e.g., cardiometabolics, epigenetics, inflammation, tissue regeneration). The program also takes advantage of multiple seminar series and symposia organized by various UAB Departments and Centers, including the Comprehensive Cardiovascular Center. A diverse group of primary faculty from multiple Departments/Schools have been assembled, who possess established track records in HF related research and/or mentorship, as well as several secondary and junior faculty, whose collective expertise span the three scientific cores. Highly meritorious MD and PhD fellows will be recruited and matched with a mentoring team consisting of four complementary faculty mentors from the distinct scientific cores, including one junior faculty. Trainee progress and mentorship effectiveness will be evaluated at regular intervals, and facilitated throughout the training period by established mechanisms, including mentoring roundtables. The proposed program is enriched further by the highly collaborative and interdisciplinary environment afforded by our institution, which has a longstanding track record in both cardiovascular and translational research, as well as in mentorship of future independent researchers and scientific leaders. Establishment of the BTSHF program will ensure adequate training of future translational researchers armed with the appropriate skills to tackle the growing HF epidemic.
Despite a decline in death rates for coronary artery disease, heart failure (HF) prevalence and mortality have increased. The expanded clinical burden, prognostic import, and health needs related to HF highlight the importance of parallel training of teams of basic, clinical, and population scientists. Hence, we propose the Basic and Translational Science in Heart Failure (BTSHF) Training Program, designed to specifically mentor highly meritorious clinical and research post-doctoral trainees in broad aspects of HF pathophysiology (disease mechanisms), diagnostics (biomarkers and imaging approaches), therapeutics (pharmacological, biological, and device-based), and epidemiology and outcomes, thereby ensuring adequate training of future translational researchers armed with the skills required to tackle the growing HF epidemic.
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