Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research in Human Hypertension

 职业目标：我的总体职业计划是扩大我的研究兴趣，了解人类高血压发病机制中的行为，心理和生物过程，并开发和测试新的干预措施来影响这些过程。我的短期职业目标是（1）成为高血压行为和心理社会方面机制研究的国家和国际领导者，（2）获得肾钠排泄及其与血压（BP）关系的专业知识，这将促进我在检查压力对高血压影响方面的计划性研究，（3）将我的实验室转变为地方，区域，和国家卓越中心的动态血压监测（ABPM）和家庭血压监测（HBPM），和（4）实施一个优秀的培训计划，在以病人为导向的高血压研究的年轻研究人员。指导计划：我的指导计划的一个核心组成部分是个性化的培训方法，其中包括核心研究能力的需求评估和持续的密集评估过程。在培训期间，我的每个学员都将接受几个培训模块，其内容将根据每个学员的需求量身定制：教学法;重点技能培训;应用，实践培训和团队管理;研究传播;以及资助写作和研究发展。研究策略和与我的职业目标和指导计划的协同作用：夜间高血压（夜间BP e120/70 mmHg）或非下降型BP模式（夜间BP下降10%），由ABPM确定，与心血管事件和死亡率的风险增加相关。利用我将从高血压的心理社会因素和行为以及临床和生物学方面的培训中获得的新知识，以及钠排泄方面的培训，我将进行一项创新的试点研究，以检查是否有一种新的心理社会应激途径，减少尿钠排泄，部分解释了心理社会应激与夜间血压升高之间的关系。最新技术水平研究将在第1-3年在实验室环境和自然环境中对相同的受试者（N=100）进行。除了为未来的R 01应用程序收集初步数据外，该研究还将作为我的学员研究培训的平台。另外两项针对学员的试点研究将分别在第四年和第五年进行。这些研究的总体目标是让学员获得在符合其职业目标的特定高血压领域进行研究的实践经验;并获得初步数据，以便学员能够在次年提交K奖或R 01申请。总结：我对以病人为导向的高血压研究的坚定承诺，个性化的导师计划，指导者直接参与以病人为导向的高血压研究，不同学科的专家作为共同导师，以及出色的机构支持，都是我的优势 这将确保我的学员在高血压方面具有强大的研究生产力，并最终成为独立的科学家。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Career Objectives: My overall career plan is to expand my research interests to understanding the behavioral, psychosocial and biological processes in the pathogenesis of human hypertension, and to develop and test novel interventions to affect these processes. My short-term career goals are to (1) become a national and international leader in mechanistic research in behavioral and psychosocial aspects of hypertension, (2) to gain expertise in renal sodium excretion and its relation with blood pressure (BP) which will advance my programmatic research in examining the effect of stress on hypertension, (3) to transform my laboratory into a local, regional, and national center of excellence for ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) and home BP monitoring (HBPM), and (4) to implement an outstanding training program in patient-oriented research in hypertension for young investigators. Mentoring Plan: A central component of my mentoring program is an individualized approach to training, which includes a needs assessment of core research competencies and an ongoing intensive evaluation process. During the training period, each of my mentees will undergo several training modules, the content of which will be tailored to each mentee's needs: Didactics; Focused Skills Training; Applied, Hands-on Training & Team Management; Research Dissemination; and Grant Writing and Study Development. Research Strategy and Synergy with My Career Objectives and Mentoring Plan: Nocturnal hypertension (nighttime BP e120/70 mmHg) or a non-dipping BP pattern (d10% reduction in BP at night), determined by ABPM, are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events and mortality. Using the new knowledge that I will gain from my training in psychosocial factors and behavior and clinical and biological aspects of hypertension, and training in sodium excretion, I will conduct an innovative pilot study to examine whether a novel psychosocial stress pathway, reduced urinary sodium excretion, partially explains the relation between psychosocial stress and elevated nighttime BP. The state-of-the-art study will be conducted in the laboratory setting and in the natural environment in the same participants (N=100) in Years 1-3. In addition to gathering preliminary data for a future R01 application, the study will serve as a platform for my mentees' research training. Two additional mentee-specific pilot studies will be conducted in Years 4 and 5 respectively. The overall aims of these studies are to have a mentee gain practical experience in conducting a study in a specific area of hypertension that matches his/her career goals; and to obtain preliminary data so that the mentee is able to submit a K Award or a R01 application the following year. Summary: My strong commitment to patient-oriented research in hypertension, an individualized mentorship plan, direct involvement of the mentees in the conduct of patient-oriented studies in hypertension, availability of experts in different disciplines as co-mentors, as well as outstanding institutional support are all strengths that will ensure that my mentees have strong research productivity in hypertension and also eventually become independent scientists.