Training in Advanced Heart Disease Research

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute (CSHI) is applying for a new Institutional Training Grant for its Advanced Heart Disease Research Training Program. The objective of the proposed Training Program is to provide outstanding team-mentored training in basic biomedical and translational research to six postdoctoral fellows (3 per year x 2 years) in order to provide them with the necessary skills to develop independent and productive academic careers in cardiovascular science. We seek to ensure that all of our trainees, be they PhDs, MDs or MD/PhDs, 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 wih 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. Areas of research focus at the CSHI include Cardiac Biology, Arrhythmias, Vascular Biology and Atherosclerosis, Regenerative Medicine, Transplant Immunology, Cardiovascular Imaging, Women's Health, and Genetics. The Training Program takes 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 was established at CSMC in 2007 and has grown rapidly. It is now 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, Medical Genetics Institute, as well as the UCLA Department of Physiology. 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 CSMC 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. We will actively recruit outstanding candidates with diverse and underrepresented backgrounds to fill the six positions (three the first year) in this training program.