This is the first competing renewal application for a Ruth L. Kirschstein Institutional National Research Service Award (T32), entitled Training Program in Cardiovascular Sciences. The program, which includes seventeen accomplished and experienced NIH-funded primary faculty members, is designed to provide closely mentored, multidisciplinary postdoctoral research training to highly promising physician-scientists and PhDs, and prepare them for careers as independent cardiovascular investigators. Toward that end, we have established a curriculum that includes rigorous didactics, a personalized mentoring plan, and an intensive research experience. The training program begins with a broad-based educational curriculum that provides all trainees with a fundamental knowledge-base that stresses research tools and the interface between biomedical research and important manifestations of cardiovascular disease. Trainees will then pursue more specialized coursework and embark upon a substantial laboratory-based or clinical research project under the guidance of a Primary Mentor in one of several areas of institutional strength: Myocardial/Ion Channel Biology and Disease; Vascular Biology and Disease; and Clinical Research. The program, which includes substantial institutional support for both trainees and faculty mentors, is designed to fund four postdoctoral fellows each year, including trainees who enter this program after completing the clinical portion of one of our ACGME-approved cardiovascular disease fellowships. The experience with our first cadre of trainees has been gratifying. These individuals, which include several from under- represented populations, have published extensively in high profile journals, and almost all of our first graduates have obtained full-time academic positions with substantial protected time for cardiovascular investigation. We are confident that continued support for this program will produce additional cardiovascular investigators who enhance cardiovascular health in the US and elsewhere.
Cardiovascular disease remains the major cause of death in the US. Improvements in the outlook for those at risk of cardiovascular disease will come from multiple strategies, including fundamental laboratory research, clinical investigation, and improvements in healthcare delivery and effectiveness. This program will provide intensive research training and career mentoring to a cadre of young cardiovascular investigators who use these multiple strategies to improve cardiovascular health.
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