Cardiovascular and Chronic Disease Prevention Training Program

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Project Summary/Abstract This grant will support a new postdoctoral training program in cardiovascular and chronic disease prevention that builds on a prior successful 45-year training program at the Stanford Prevention Research Center (SPRC). The program’s objective is to mentor doctoral level scientists in interdisciplinary and translational population- and individual-level behavioral research aimed at preventing CVD and other prevalent chronic diseases. The program strongly emphasizes interdisciplinary behavioral interventions that can advance health equity. This application coincides with a period of sustained excellence and innovation for SPRC. A new chief, Dr. David Maron, leads a growing faculty focusing on cutting-edge scientific inquiry in a diverse array of interdisciplinary fields, including digital and precision health, community-led participatory research for advancing health equity, gender health, aging, the microbiome, global health, and healthy people-healthy environments research. The training program faculty represent a range of disciplines, including behavioral and social sciences, medicine, epidemiology, public health, biostatistics, physiology, nutrition science, exercise science, environmental science, communication, and education. In addition to a portfolio of NIH-funded research activities that include observational and clinical trial designs and methods, SPRC has built a Wellness Living Laboratory (WELL) consisting of ~28,000 “citizen scientists” from the U.S. as well as China, Taiwan and Singapore. WELL’s long- term cohort and array of experimental studies provide additional rich research opportunities for trainees. Postdoctoral training will focus on direct mentored research experiences in a rich, interdisciplinary science environment that totals ~$10 million annually. Fellows work closely with a primary and secondary mentor and join a research team where they learn collaboratively about study design and methods, data collection and analyses, manuscript preparation, and other dissemination mechanisms to speed the translation of research to practice. Formal instruction in grant preparation is provided through a diverse range of didactic and experiential methods. Such SPRC and Medical School training opportunities are complemented by a broad array of resources offered by the Stanford CTSA in addition to career development programs provided by the Stanford Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and other Stanford resources. Fellow selection prioritizes interest in chronic disease prevention, potential for a productive research career and demonstrated scientific excellence and potential. Of the 49 fellows completing the prior fellowship in the past 15 years (2005-2020), 82% (40/49) currently hold research-related positions. SPRC also is strongly committed to diversity; of the 38 prior SPRC fellows appointed in the past decade, 68% were women and 32% were under-represented minorities (5 Hispanic, 4 African American, 2 Native American, 1 disadvantaged white). We request funding for 4 postdoctoral fellow slots in Year 1 and 7 in Years 2-5 for candidates with a PhD and/or MD.