This is an application for a new T32 Ruth L. Kirschstein Institutional National Research Service Award entitled Mechanisms of Cardiovascular Disease. The Albert Einstein College of Medicine, one of the first institutions in the nation to establish a formal Molecular Cardiovascular Biology Program in 1987, has a long tradition of cardiovascular research training. Contemporary biomedical science permits the integration of genetics, epigenetics, molecular biology, physiology, model systems research, and epidemiology to drive progress in understanding of cardiovascular disease. Through these modalities, we can begin to understand the precise molecular mechanisms that predispose to and are involved in complex processes such as congenital heart disease, atherosclerosis, ischemic heart disease, and heart failure. Our program's overall structure includes 11 trainers representing 6 different departments, with areas of thematic focus in 1) Myocardium ? Injury and Aging, 2) Vascular Development and Disease, and 3) Metabolism ? Cardiovascular Risk. The mission of this program is to provide the next generation of investigators, including both pre- and postdoctoral trainees, with state-of-the art concepts, experiences, and skills required to initiate and sustain successful long-term independent careers in cardiovascular research. As a result of this program, dialogues among scientists working in fundamental areas of biology, basic cardiovascular scientists, and clinical cardiologists will be enhanced, leading to productive collaborations and cutting-edge research. This program brings our institution's considerable depth, rigorous scientific approach, and tradition of innovation to bear on important and highly prevalent cardiovascular problems.
This program aims to provide the next generation of investigators with state-of-the art training in cardiovascular research. It works across traditional scientific disciplines to provide trainees with broad-based technical and conceptual approaches to apply to the study of cardiovascular diseases. Program structure includes focus areas that address how the heart changes with aging and with injury such as myocardial infarction, formation of the vasculature system and diseases that compromise it, and metabolic conditions that predispose to and accelerate cardiovascular disease. Our ultimate objective is to train individuals so they have the concepts, experiences, and skills required to initiate and sustain successful long-term independent careers dedicated to decreasing the burden of cardiovascular disease in our society.
