Undergraduate Cardiovascular Research Program

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Summary This new R25 program is designed to engage undergraduate students in multi-disciplinary translational cardiovascular research directed toward the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). There are too few under-represented racial/ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and people from rural and inner-city locations who are pursuing careers in CVD research (all recognized by the NHLBI task force review of research training and career development programs). This program is designed to involve students from these backgrounds in multi-disciplinary research activities to reduce the burden of CVD. Our 5-year proposal will enroll 12 sophomore students each year into a multi-year commitment that combines the summer research stipend from this proposed NIH award with an educational curriculum supported by each student’s undergraduate institution of higher learning in Virginia (including historically minority-serving universities), and the research strengths of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) – including an NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award and the VCU Pauley Heart Center. Key features of this proposed R25 program include: 1) pairing each trainee with a funded research mentor whose research focuses on CVD; 2) outstanding multidisciplinary faculty who are seasoned mentors; 3) access to multiple phenotypic and biologic materials from major NIH-funded basic science, prospective cohort, or clinical trials at VCU through the supporting program faculty; 4) courses provided by the existing undergraduate, graduate, and medical school faculty to supplement areas of CVD research not previously experienced by students; and 5) two institutional seminar series that enhance interactions with other students and individuals from multiple disciplines. A group of racially and gender diverse faculty from six (6) universities who will be a part of the proposed program already have experience mentoring 12 students in a successful and comparable program in the prior year. All faculty have NIH or VA extramural or other peer- reviewed funding; strong institutional support (financial resources, facilities, and equipment); robust integration with the VCU Center of Health Disparities for recruiting and training minority individuals; and support for key professional development activities such as presentations and grant and manuscript writing. The ultimate goal of this R25 program is to attract and train a cohort of outstanding young students from six (6) undergraduate institutions within Virginia to become fluent in the latest developments of CVD multidisciplinary translational research, who will be well prepared to pursue future careers in cardiovascular health. Accomplishing this goal would augment the number of under-represented racial/ethnic minorities, those with disabilities and persons from rural and inner-city communities into graduate programs focused on developing new advances in multi-disciplinary translational research to treat and prevent cardiovascular disease, a major public health issue.