Cleveland State University (CSU), together with the Lerner Research Institute (LRI) of the Cleveland Clinic, are submitting ?CD-Cavs: Cross-Disciplinary Cardiovascular Sciences Training Program to Diversify the STEM workforce?. Its purpose is to train pre-doctoral students from all backgrounds under-represented in the STEM workforce, thus helping address unacceptably low participation of these populations in STEM careers. CSU is an urban university with a vision to be ?a student-focused center of scholarly excellence that provides an accessible, engaged and exceptional education to all?. Of CSU?s undergraduates, 39.6% are Pell eligible, with 22% under-represented minorities (URM). CSU serves the most diverse student body of any non- historically black university in Ohio. Cleveland, with its abundance of biomedical and academic health institutions along the Health-Tech Corridor, is an attractive destination for students interested in STEM and healthcare. Within this healthcare landscape, CSU?s partnership with LRI provides a rich training environment: with LRI?s exceptional NIH-funded cardiovascular research and strong mentoring history, complemented by centers of excellence at CSU, such as GRHD, the Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease, and CHMS, the Center for Human Machine Systems. CD-Cavs will expand upon this robust partnership with LRI by bringing under its umbrella, the 3 joint CSU:LRI Ph.D. programs: Regulatory Biology, Clinical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, in the College of Sciences and Health Professions, (COSHP) and Applied Biomedical Engineering in the Washkewicz College of Engineering (WCOE). Underrepresented students, exclusively, will be recruited through TRIO McNair Scholar programs, through joint marketing with LRI at national conferences, such as Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), and through CSU student organizations such as Scientista, National Society of Black Engineers, and Society of Women Engineers. Nineteen faculty from CSU, plus 18 from LRI will serve as mentors, with each CD-Cavs trainee supported by one CSU and one LRI mentor. CD-Cavs will be the first T32 Training Program in Cleveland devoted exclusively to support of under-represented pre-doctoral students. We request support for 5 pre-doctoral students in each of the 5 years of CD-Cavs funding, to be supported for 2-2.5 years subsequent to passing their candidacy exam.The breadth of research training encompasses translational control of gene expression, susceptibility genes in complex diseases, aging and the circadian clock, blood coagulation disorders, inflammatory mechanisms in atherosclerosis and asthma, pulmonary hypertension, human-robot systems in rehabilitation, 3D-bioprinting on micro-pillar chips, remote patient monitoring, and tissue matrix engineering. This unique cross-disciplinary training will be enriched by a clinical immersion experience at the Cleveland Clinic, by Student-Mentor Discussion Groups, a Cardiovascular Sciences Seminar series, Cardiology Grand Rounds, plus multiple support mechanisms from CSU?s Graduate Student Resource Center. !
Despite major advances in cardiovascular research, there are significant and unacceptable disparities in healthcare in our underserved populations, for example, risk of heart failure, sudden cardiac death, and obesity is doubled in African Americans, death from stroke is four times greater than majority populations. Yet too few members of disadvantaged populations achieve careers in the STEM workforce. Given the urgent need to redress these inequities, Cleveland State University will partner with the Cleveland Clinic to offer the first T32 training program in Cleveland to recruit pre-doctoral students from those populations underserved and underrepresented in the STEM workforce. !
