Interdisciplinary Training in Cardiovascular Health Research

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

There is an urgent need to increase the number of nurse scientists who are trained to conduct interdisciplinary research at younger stages in their careers. The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSON) is well positioned to educate some of this next generation of early career nurse scientists who will lead transformation in healthcare through the conduct of innovative interdisciplinary research for the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease. Research is a major weapon in our fight against cardiovascular disease (CVD), the number one cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Nurse researchers have made significant contributions to knowledge discovery in the science of CVD prevention and management interventions to improve cardiovascular health. This application requests support for two fast track pre-doctoral trainees for interdisciplinary research training as nurse scientists to build investigative careers directed at improving our understanding of behavioral, biologic and genomic mechanisms associated with cardiovascular health, illness, risk, and the investigation of interventions designed to prevent or control CVD risk factors and promote cardiovascular health. Through a combination of didactic coursework, directed research residencies, interdisciplinary co-mentorship, skill-building workshops, journal clubs, research seminars, and independent research projects, fellows will develop competencies to conduct state-of-the-art research. Fellows will have the opportunity to select senior research mentors from four research clusters: 1) intervention science (health behavior change, health literacy); 2) research methodology (biostatistics, epidemiology, clinical trials, comparative effectiveness, economic analyses, community based participatory research); 3) biologic science (genetics, markers of inflammation/atherosclerosis, stress); and 4) social science (health disparities, social determinants of health). This training program benefits from the participation of experienced, enthusiastic, committed faculty from the Schools of Nursing, Medicine, and Public Health, who are involved in active, funded research programs in cardiovascular health; the availability of interdisciplinary course offerings and research experiences targeted to achieve competencies in the areas of cardiovascular research; and a strong history of productive NIH-funded interdisciplinary research and training efforts. The specific aims of this training program are to: (1) increase the number of early career nurse scientists participating in interdisciplinary research; (2) utilize resources throughout the University to assure training across disciplines to develop creative, successful clinical investigators who can lead and participate in research within interdisciplinary teams to solve complex clinical and basic research problems; and, (3) provide fellows with the in-depth core knowledge and skills to conduct rigorous interdisciplinary research in the area of CVD prevention and management.