Program in Blood Coagulation and Vascular Biology

Abstract The goal of this program is to train MD and PhD postdoctoral fellows in biomedical research as it applies to Blood Coagulation and Vascular Biology. We offer a multi-disciplinary program that consists of didactic instruction, seminars and supervised research. Important elements of the curriculum are supervision by faculty advisors, formal course work, interactions between trainee and the faculty, and interactions between the trainee and peers. The Program is designed around three distinct tracks. MD trainees choose between two tracks. The Physician-Scientist Track consists of a minimum of two years of supervised bench research and didactic instruction after completion of the major portion of hospital-funded clinical subspecialty training. The Clinical Investigator Track prepares MD participants for a career in clinical investigation in the areas of blood coagulation and vascular biology. PhD trainees participate in the Basic Science Track. The design of the program takes into account (a) the need for physicians to acquire knowledge of advances in molecular and cell biology, genetics, bioengineering, animal models, and systems biology; (b) the need for an extended training experience to allow fellows to develop sophistication in modern biomedical research; (c) the need for PhD scientists to understand the biochemistry of the coagulation system and the pathobiology of the vascular system. Dr. Robert Flaumenhaft is the Program Director and Drs. Sol Schulman, Kenneth Bauer, and Elisabeth Battinelli are the Track Leaders. Faculty of the program, members of the Department of Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, share a scientific interest in blood coagulation and vascular biology. MD trainees are selected from >100 applicants each year. Only those applicants with an explicit commitment to a career in academic medicine are selected. This grant, funded for the past 23 years, is a continuation of T32 HL07437, which had been active at Tufts Medical Center for 20 years. This training program has proven exceptionally successful. Over past 5 years, 82% of our recent alumni have remained in academia and 18% are employed in industry. Of those in academia, half have already attained federal funding for their independent research projects. This Program has, in the past 4 decades, produced leaders in the fields of blood coagulation and vascular biology and has had important impact in sustaining basic research in the field of hemostasis and thrombosis.