Vanderbilt SCHolars in HIV and Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep ReSearch (V-SCHoLARS, K12)

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With effective combination antiretroviral therapy (ART), people living with HIV/AIDS are living longer, but this success is tempered by rising rates of cardiopulmonary, hematologic, and sleep (HLBS) comorbidities in the HIV population. Vanderbilt University’s location in the Southeastern United States places it in the region with the highest rates incident HIV infection and cardiopulmonary disease. For these reasons, this application seeks to establish the Vanderbilt SCholars in HIV and Heart, Lung, Blood, And Sleep ReSearch (V-SCHoLARS, K12) program to train and mentor the next generation of HIV HLBS researchers with expertise in domains ranging from basic science to large population studies. We propose to support 5 junior faculty V-SCHoLARS who have completed an MD or PhD in the health sciences at a level of 75% effort for 2 years. Vanderbilt has a rich research environment and highly successful history of developing the careers of research scientists. Vanderbilt scholars in career development programs have an 84% success rate for extramural funding and a 70% K to R or R-equivalent conversion rate. Our proposed program, aided by Vanderbilt’s Office for Diversity Affairs, will recruit from a diverse pool of talented applicants through Vanderbilt's existing T32 grants; clinical/research fellowships in cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematology, and sleep medicine; the VA Quality Scholars Fellowship; and Meharry Medical College. Scholars will have access to 33 established NIH-funded mentors with expertise in HIV/infectious disease, cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematology, or sleep medicine who have a demonstrated track record of mentoring early career scholars, as well as 14 topic experts in the fields of basic science, clinical trials/translational research, population/epidemiology, health services/operational research, and biostatistics and bioinformatics. The program will have 4 major components: (1) formal mentoring (each scholar will have a paired HIV and an HLBS mentor), 2) didactic education that includes an opportunity to obtain a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation, 3) guaranteed protected time, and 4) a mentored research project that will be submitted as part of career development grant in year two. Each Scholar will have an individualized development plan with milestones tailored to their scientific background, training needs, and career goals. Scholars will have access to institutional resources including the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, the Tennessee Center for AIDS Research, existing cohort data (e.g., Veterans Aging Cohort Study), biostatistical support, 50 research cores, and BioVu, one of the world’s largest clinically linked biobanks. Scholars will also be supported by a range of career development resources: interdisciplinary expert consultant studios to vet scientific ideas, aims, and research designs; a K08/K23/R01 funded grant library; grant workshops; work-in-progress sessions; and research seminars through the Newman Society, a professional group for all career development awardees at Vanderbilt. Taken together, Vanderbilt provides an optimal environment for developing a diverse, well-trained next generation of HIV HLBS researchers.