Basic Cardiovascular Research Training Grant

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Despite decades of research there are still fundamental gaps in our knowledge of the underlying mechanisms that contribute to development and progression of most cardiovascular (CV) diseases, as well as the end stage clinical consequences of these diseases and how to better treat or prevent them. A central premise of this T32 Basic and Translational Cardiovascular Research Training Program (CVTP) is that these diseases are extremely complex, and that rigorous study of them requires trainees to have a strong foundation of knowledge of basic CV physiology, developmental biology, genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, epigenetics, pathology, systems biology, biomedical engineering, and other disciplines. A major strength of our CVTP is that we have 40 outstanding clinical, translational, and basic science mentors representing these areas, and have built a unique training program over the past several decades that integrates mentoring talents into producing the best trained CV scientists possible. Our goal is to provide pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainees the necessary knowledge, intellectual capabilities, technical skills, passion, and problem-solving abilities to conduct outstanding state-of- the-art CV research employing a wide range of powerful and innovative approaches. Support is requested for 8 pre- and 7 post-doctoral fellows who represent a small fraction of a much larger cohort of CVTP trainees who are working in mentor laboratories. The program is led by co-PIs Drs. Gary K. Owens and Brant Isakson, as well as two talented Associate Directors Drs. Coleen McNamara and Shayn Peirce-Cottler who are all exceptional CV researchers and mentors. Pre-doctoral trainees are selected from a large pool of outstanding trainees initially recruited into an umbrella biomedical sciences (BIMS) graduate program or the UVA MD/PhD (NIH MST) Program, whereas post-doctoral candidates are largely recruited by individual mentor labs or from one of several clinical residency-fellowship programs. After completing a highly innovative BIMS 6000 core course in integrated biology in year 01, CVTP pre-doctoral trainees take elective modular courses that are customized based on their interests and degree program. They also complete three lab rotations to aid in selection of a mentor. Only trainees who have already selected a CVTP mentor are eligible for appointment. All trainees are required to take our signature CVTP advanced courses including BIMS 8052-3 (Advanced Vascular Biology) and BIMS 8064 (a trainee-run Careers/Professionalism Course), and are also required to attend our weekly research seminars, monthly research in progress sessions, bi-annual research retreats, and to complete biomedical ethics training. The CVTP also has an exceptional grant writing program including an annual workshop and approximately 20 annual grant brewing sessions. There are many indices of the success of this program including: 1) many former CVTG trainees being leaders in their field; 2) current CVTG trainees publishing many high impact first author papers and having a 48% success rate in securing extramural fellowships upon first submission; and 3) 90% of trainees who have completed training the last 10 years have secured high quality permanent research positions.