Cardiovascular Research Training

Heart

Graduate students are eligible to have their research experience enriched by a number of NIH-sponsored training programs.  If you have a special interest in one of these NIH training programs, please apply to one of the seven Biomedical Sciences (BIMS) Graduate Groups and then visit our Research Foci Form to select the appropriate research foci.  NIH funding for graduate education is awarded to the institution following a competitive peer review process specific to the research area.

 


We have assembled a group of 35 mentors, from 7 departments and 3 divisions in the School of Medicine.  Among these individuals are some of the finest cardiovascular researchers in the world.  Our commitment is to training young investigators interested in the study of the heart and vasculature.  Faculty research focus areas include: biophysics and molecular biology of receptors and ion channels, cell signaling, growth control of vascular smooth muscle, microvascular regulation, molecular basis of leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions, cardiovascular progenitor cell biology, endothelial cell biology, vascular inflammation and cardiovascular imaging. 

Our laboratories are supplemented by a superb array of shared-instrumentation and core facilities.  The training program supports 10 pre-doctoral Ph.D. candidates.  The departments and the programs establish criteria for professional excellence while the training grant Executive Committee focuses on assuring competencies for quality cardiovascular research.  A core curriculum for the biomedical sciences is supplemented by discipline-specific courses and a required course in Vascular Biology.  Classroom education is supplemented by a cardiovascular research journal club, laboratory discussion groups, and an outstanding seminar program and research-in-progress series hosted by the Cardiovascular Research Center in conjunction with the participating departments and programs.  Preparation for translational research is fostered by: the inclusion of faculty from three clinical departments with those from the basic sciences.  Most importantly, we have formalized a plan for PhD training for a selected group of our MD Fellows.  This training program is strongly backed by the University of Virginia School of Medicine, which has established the Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC) as a focus for coordinating cardiovascular research and training throughout the Medical School.  In the spring of 2002 the CVRC and many of its associated trainees moved into a brand-new research building with an exciting new set of research programs.

Visit the Basic Cardiovascular Research Training site at:

http://www.cvrc.virginia.edu/Training.cfm