The applicant is committed to future career as a scientist and an academic pediatric cardiologist. The Clinical Investigator Award will allow the applicant to develop into a fully independent biomedical investigator while studying the molecular basis for establishment and maintenance of the cardiac lineage. This project has been specifically designed to advance the candidate's long term goal of becoming a skilled investigator into the molecular and genetic regulation of cardiac development. The Research: A fundamental goal in the study of muscle development has been the understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie the establishment of stable cell lineages, the expression of specific structural genes, and the specialization of the contractile unit. Despite a number of efforts to dissect these discrete developmental processes, little is known about the molecular basis for the programmed changes underlying these events. This is particularly true with respect to the cell biology and molecular genetics of the cardiovascular system. The overall aim of this investigation is to provide insight into the developmental events leading to the generation and maintenance of the cardiac lineage. It is hoped that the identification of specific factors involved in the cardiac commitment process will contribute significantly to our knowledge of fundamental and critical specific objectives of this proposal include: 1. Identification of transcriptional regulatory factors with potential influences on cardiogenic programming of uncommitted cells. 2. Characterization of putative cardiac cDNA sequences. 3. Assessment of cardiac inducing potential following expression of the putative cardiac cDNA clone(s). 4. Functional characterization of the cardiac myogenic factors. The Environment: This project will be performed in Dr. Robert J. Schwartz's laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine (Department of Cell Biology). Under the guidance of R.J. Schwartz, Ph.D., a critical mass of excellent postdoctoral biology under the most current technology available. Dr. Schwartz is particularly dedicated to the study of the regulation of embryonic heart development and has a well established reputation as an investigator of the molecular biology of the actin multigene family. His laboratory provides all the experimental tools required in the area of molecular cardiology and the interaction with investigators who share common interests in cardiovascular development.
