Bioengineering Cardiovascular Training Grant (BCTG)

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ABSTRACT The Bioengineering Cardiovascular Training Grant (BCTG) program provides Bioengineering training for six NIH supported and one Bioengineering department supported PhD students committed to careers in cardiovascular research. Cardiovascular (CV) diseases are the leading cause of mortality in the US and progress in this area will require training outstanding scientists with a variety of backgrounds in bioengineering to develop new and innovative approaches for study, diagnosis and treatment of CV disease. The UW and Department of Bioengineering have been leaders in CV research and technology development for over 50 years. BCTG faculty in multiple departments in the College of Engineering and School of Medicine have strong collaborative programs in this area. Our program benefits the public by training professionals in basic science and translational research that integrates engineering, mathematics, chemistry, physiology, physics and computational skills to promote fundamental discoveries and develop new technologies. Students gain interdisciplinary skills and the value of collaboration. The program emphasizes new technology development in diagnostics and therapeutics to study and treat CV pathologies, improving early detection and disease management, to improve quality of life for heart failure patients. We believe that the success of translational research requires highly trained scientists to be placed in both academia and industry, with skills to successfully transition research from universities to commercialization and the clinic. For this renewal proposal we have added several novel components to provide training in research and professional skills that spans the biomedical pipeline from discovery & mechanistic studies to translational research to commercialization or clinical development. The 2-year program involves 1) research in the laboratory of a chosen mentor, 2) a unique curriculum with opportunities for training in clinical translation and commercialization, and 3) clinical preceptorships that are unique to our program. Trainees attend a weekly seminar series focused on CV research, with an associated journal club and special sessions with speakers that are limited to trainees. Trainees also attend lectures and discussion groups in the Biomedical Research Integrity summer program, sponsored by the School of Medicine. Additional new components include outreach and research mentoring to under-represented groups to increase the diversity of the workforce in STEM fields, and a course that provides resources and seminars for professional skills development and training in research reproducibility, rigor and transparency. Trainees are selected based on strong quantitative and engineering backgrounds, training environment of faculty mentors, appropriateness of the research to our programmatic focus and the potential for innovative, collaborative and translational research. Trainees present at yearly symposiums and national meetings, and write a yearly progress report that includes feedback questions to continually improve our program. Trainees are required to apply for fellowships at the end of the two-year training period to begin establishing a record of successful competition in gaining research support.