The Training in Integrative and Systems Biology of Cardiovascular Disease Training Program provides outstanding research opportunities, multidisciplinary training and mentoring to predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees interested in: 1) cardiac metabolism, remodeling and cardiomyopathies; 2) ion channels, cardiac excitability and arrhythmias; and, 3) vascular biology, inflammation and coronary disease.
Research Opportunities
The participating faculty mentors (see training program faculty page) are highly interactive, collaborative and productive investigators who are committed to providing the training, experience, enthusiasm, and commitment to facilitate the scientific and professional development of each Program trainee. In addition, the training program faculty are all well-funded investigators committed to providing the guidance, experiences and mentoring to predoctoral/postdoctoral fellows on the path to becoming the next generation of outstanding cardiovascular investigators focused on addressing fundamentally important, unanswered questions and on providing novel insights into cardiac physiology, pathophysiology and disease mechanisms.
Formal Training
Predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees affiliated with this Training Program participate in the Core Curriculum in Integrative and Systems Cardiovascular Biology, designed to be comprehensive enough to have an impact on the training of all trainees, while also to be flexible enough to address the educational needs of trainees with diverse backgrounds and experiences. This has been accomplished in the form of three components, Basic Cardiac and Vascular Biology and Physiology; Cardiovascular Biology from Molecules to Models to Mechanisms; and, Cardiovascular Biology from Lab to Human Disease. Each component of this Core Curriculum runs for four-six weeks, meeting once per week for two hours during the summer, and participation is required of all trainees supported by the ISBTG; the specifics topics vary each year. Participation in these series is open to other (predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees) in the laboratories of the faculty in this Training Program. The format is didactic presentations and informal discussions. Some recent topics were: Cardiac Electrophysiology and Excitation-Contraction Coupling; Basic Cardiac and Vascular Biology, Physiology and Pathophysiology; and Molecular Genetics and Genomics of Cardiovascular Disease.
Mentoring Statement
Recognizing that acquiring the skills, experience and expertise needed to be an independent investigator is challenging, this Training Program is actively involved in the advising and the mentoring of predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees. On joining the program, all trainees are encouraged to complete an Individual Development Plan (IDP) using the website at Science Careers (http://myidp.sciencecareers.org). Members of the Program Steering Committee meet with each trainee to review the IDP and ongoing research objectives, as well as to discuss other aspects of the trainee’s scientific, professional and career development. Trainees are encouraged to use the IDP to articulate their goals and plans and to monitor and evaluate their progress in accomplishing previously stated goals and plans. Trainees are encouraged to update and, when necessary, to reformulate components of their IDP to better align with their goals, expectations and plans.