Molecular and Cellular Basis of Cardiovascular Disease

SUMMARY / ABSTRACT Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death in the United States and worldwide and are a significant cause of premature death, disability, and loss of quality-of-life. Novel technologies and approaches to determine the mechanisms that cause or contribute to cardiovascular diseases have become increasingly powerful, but these approaches have also become increasingly specialized. Multidisciplinary efforts that bring together investigators with complementary knowledge, tools and skills and integrate laboratory and patient-based research are essential for ongoing efforts to leverage information about mechanisms of disease into rationale therapeutic approaches for treatment. Thus, the need for broadly trained scientists who can adopt innovative technologies, assemble tools from different disciplines, and bridge basic, translational, and clinical science is greater than ever. The overall goal of the UCSF Training Program in the Molecular and Cellular Basis of Cardiovascular Disease is to train a diverse group of investigators who will be at the forefront of cardiovascular discovery and disease research. Toward this goal, this training program will: 1) attract talented PhD-trained postdoctoral scientists from a broad national and international applicant pool and from an outstanding group of MD- and MD/PhD-trained researchers from UCSF's Cardiology and other clinical fellowships to postdoctoral training in cardiovascular research; and 2) leverage the strong multidisciplinary research environment in UCSF’s Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) to provide outstanding scientific training in the context of research programs focused on cardiovascular biology and disease. The Program brings together a diverse and outstanding group of mentors with a common interest in cardiovascular biology and a commitment to mentorship and training of a diverse group of postdoctoral scientists. The heart of this training program is formulation and execution of a substantial research project relevant to cardiovascular biology and development of professional skills under the guidance of a faculty mentor. The Training Program includes state-of-the-art, cutting edge research opportunities in laboratories that span basic, translational, and patient-based, clinical research. Program trainees benefit from the cohesive, multidisciplinary training environment in CVRI, and the robust intellectual and scientific environment in the CVRI and at UCSF more generally. Trainees also benefit from co-mentoring, peer-mentoring, ready access to collaborators and colleagues with overlapping but complementary interests and expertise, and extensive and robust didactic training in the Responsible Conduct of Research, Training in Clinical Research, if appropriate, and a strong emphasis on reproducibility and rigor in scientific examination.