This proposal is for competitive renewal of our T32 entitled Training in Behavioral and Preventive Medicine that is based at the Brown University Centers of Behavioral and Preventive Medicine (CBPM) and The Miriam Hospital. The program goal is to train a total of 13 postdoctoral fellows for two year periods to conduct research to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) by changing the most prominent lifestyle risk factors, including obesity, physical inactivity, and smoking. Over the first 10 years of this training program, we have successfully trained 21 fellows and have 4 additional fellows currently in training. Our success is highlighted by that fact that 10 of the 11 trainees funded in our first cycle have faculty appointments and all 10 have research grant support. Of the 10 who were funded more recently, 7 have faculty appointments (five of whom already have grant support, including 3 from NIH), and 3 are continuing further research training at other institutions. This T32 develops researchers who advance the basic science understanding of the etiology of behaviors associated with CVD and who develop and disseminate effective interventions targeting these behaviors to prevent or treat CVD. These approaches require multidisciplinary teams which are facilitated by the ongoing collaborations between the CBPM (including the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center) and the Brown Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, the Department of Medicine and the School of Public Health. There are large numbers of federally funded trials that provide outstanding research training opportunities for our fellows including projects on the effects of behavior change on CVD risk factors, studies of genetic and environmental contributions to health and CVD, projects focusing on underrepresented populations, including Latinas, Southeast Asians and persons with HIV, and projects using innovative channels (e.g, Internet and text-messaging) and sites of delivery (e.g., YMCAs). We have retained and augmented our successful training model for this cycle. Program Director Rena Wing, PhD, continues in her leadership capacity. Jeanne McCaffery, PhD, is the new Associate Director, and Drs. Beth Bock, Ana Abrantes, Elizabeth McQuaid, Charles Eaton, and Akilah Dulin-Keita serve on the Training Committee. Training is highly individualized with all fellows developing core competencies in areas such as CVD-related behavioral research and specialized competencies in their specific areas of research. Formal didactics and mentored research experiences are combined to develop competencies. Mentoring teams are headed by a senior behavioral scientist and complemented with a physician, public health scientist or a junior faculty mentor. Trainee progress in achieving training objectives is formally evaluated, as is the success of the Training Program. Given our ability to recruit highly competitive candidates, provide extensive research and training opportunities, provide outstanding mentors with established track records, and produce funded researchers and junior faculty members, we feel uniquely qualified to continue our T32 research training in behavior change and CVD.
Lifestyle factors, including obesity, physical inactivity and smoking, account for more than 50% of the burden of chronic disease morbidity and mortality. This T32 from the Centers of Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at Brown University and The Miriam Hospital trains postdoctoral fellows to become researchers to address behavioral problems related to cardiovascular disease.
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