Diseases of the heart and circulation are of enormous human and economic importance in the United States. A successful attack on this problem requires a new generation of scientists trained to understand the cardiovascular system at a variety of levels and from diverse technical perspectives. Using the approaches and techniques of modem biomedical science, this competing renewal of the University of Miami Training Program in Cardiovascular Signaling seeks to provide these scientists. The revolution in molecular biology has vastly increased our ability to identify specific ion channels, receptors, pumps, signaling pathways, and their effectors. Future cardiovascular scientists will need to have not only an understanding of these processes at the molecular level but will also need to be able to integrate this knowledge to understand their function at the intact cell, tissue, organ and whole animal level. The present Program Faculty has a demonstrated ability to train new investigators in all of these areas, utilizing the latest modem technologies, for positions in universities, medical schools, government laboratories and biopharmaceutical and biotechnology firms. The Program Director, Dr. James Potter, is a respected researcher in the cellular and molecular aspects of the regulation of cardiac and skeletal muscle contraction. Dr. Potter is an experienced departmental chairman who has trained many graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The Program Faculty, drawn from several basic science and clinical departments, are an outstanding, well-funded group of scientists and teachers whose research interests comprise a cross-section of modem Cardiovascular Signaling. These faculty are proven leaders in graduate and postdoctoral education. The overall aim of the program is to guide predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees through the process of acquiring the research skills and the intellectual rigor needed to become independent cardiovascular scientists. The Program also seeks to provide undergraduate medical students with intensive, short-term research experiences. An excellent pool of trainee candidates exists for this Training Program and past trainees have shown a strong record of accomplishment. In summary, major strengths of the proposed renewal of the training program include: 1) the research productivity, research funding, and training experience of the Program Faculty, as well as the proven administrative skill of the Program Director, 2) the strong credentials of the current students and postdoctoral fellows, and 3) the past accomplishments of the Program in producing trainees who have gone on to successful careers in biomedical research.
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