This proposal seeks to establish a new Institutional Postdoctoral Training Program at the Lerner Research Institute (LRI) of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The LRI is an integrated research community of more than 90 independent investigators. With more than $26 million in NIH grants in 1997, the LRI ranks within the top five research institutes in NIH funding. This application request four postdoctoral positions in Year 01 and have subsequent positions in each of the subsequent four years. The training faculty will be composed of seven staff members of the LRI, who are administratively housed in two of the eight departments, the Molecular Cardiology and Cell Biology, of the LRI. The goal of the faculty is to provide cutting-edge research projects and an outstanding training environment for postdoctoral fellows. The unifying research interest of the faculty is in the area of vascular cell biology. Vascular cell biology represents a burgeoning area of biomedical research which will provide ample career opportunities for the well-trained postdoctoral fellow. The unifying research interest of the faculty is in the area of vascular cell biology. Vascular cell biology represents a burgeoning area of biomedical research which will provide ample career opportunities for the well-trained postdoctoral fellow. Under this theme, five specific research topics will be emphasized: 1) the biological responses of blood and vascular cells; 2) lipoprotein function, metabolism, and modification; 3) cell adhesion receptors and the functional consequences of ligand binding to these receptors; 4) the structure of adrenergic receptors and the down-steam signaling events triggered by their engagement; and 5) protein structure and function analyses in vitro and in vivo. These basic research programs have direct relevance to cardiovascular pathologies including thrombosis, atherosclerosis, inflammation, hypertension and heart failure. The translation of basic research to clinical medicine is emphasized at the Cleveland Clinic and is of key importance to the future academic success of postdoctoral trainees. The seven participating faculty include the two departmental chairs, Drs. Pow and DiCorleto, who serve as co-chairs of this training program. These investigators, together with Drs. Bond, Chisolm and Fox, have extensive experience in the training of postdoctoral fellows. In addition, two more junior faculty members, Drs. Driscoll and Perez, who exhibit great promise not only as researchers but also as mentors, have been included in the faculty. These faculty are united in their interest in vascular cell biology and in their desire to provide high quality training for postdoctoral fellows. In October, 1998, the new 418,000 square feet building of the Research and Education Institutes will be completed, and the laboratories of the faculty will then adjoin. Their approximately 9,000 square feet (total) of laboratory space will be supported by common equipment facilities and an extensive network of institutionally supported core services. This new proximity will help to facilitate existing collaborations and promote further interactions among the faculty and their trainees. Overall, we believe that the combination of our research interests, the talents of our faculty as investigators and mentors, and our facilities should provide an outstanding training environment.
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