Training in Advanced Heart Disease Research

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The Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute (CSHI) is applying for the first competitive renewal of its Advanced Heart Disease Research Training Program. The objective of this Institutional Training Program is to build on our initial success (66% success rate for K awards in our first graduating class) to provide outstanding team-mentored training in basic biomedical and translational research to six postdoctoral fellows (3 per year x 2 years). The goal is to provide postdoctoral fellows with the necessary skills to develop independent and productive academic careers in cardiovascular science. We seek to ensure that all our trainees, be they PhDs, MDs, MD/PhDs or equivalent, develop an in-depth knowledge of the basic science underpinning clinically relevant problems in cardiovascular medicine, as well as a comprehensive understanding of rigorous study design, appropriate methodology and expert technical execution of basic and clinical studies. This not only provides clinical investigators with the skills they need to properly test hypotheses generated at the basic science level, but also informs basic scientists about the clinical aspects of disease in order to stimulate clinically relevant state-of-the- art investigations in the laboratory. Our training program's areas of research focus include Cardiac Biology, Arrhythmias, Vascular Biology and Atherosclerosis, Regenerative Medicine, Transplant Immunology, Cardiovascular Imaging, Women's Health, Community Health, Implementation Science, Precision Medicine and Genetics. The Training Program takes full advantage of the unique strengths of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (CSMC), the largest private teaching hospital west of the Mississippi, which has a longstanding commitment to translational research and to serving the local community. The CSHI houses the largest adult heart transplant program in the world, performed an NIH-funded first-in-human trial of cardiac-derived stem cell therapy, and has attracted many NIH-funded basic and translational investigators. Some of these share joint appointments in other CSMC units, which include the Regenerative Medicine Institute, Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, and the Departments of Biomedical Sciences, Medicine, and Pathology. Trainees receive an intensive research experience in a focused area of investigation, augmented by a formal curriculum that includes both basic and clinical seminars, instruction in grant and manuscript writing, public speaking, biostatistics and ethics. Several courses are provided by the Department of Biomedical Sciences, the CSMC Clinical Scholars Program, and a multi-campus NIH CTSA-supported Center for Translational Science Institute (CTSI, includes CSMC, UCLA, Harbor-UCLA, and Charles Drew University). The CTSI provides our trainees with privileged access to project seed funds, additional courses in clinical research design, and tools for conducting the entire range of studies from bench to bedside to community. In summary, we have designed a program that provides in-depth training in critical areas of cardiovascular science within an environment that champions translational research and clinical excellence.