Cardiology Division Cardiovascular Research Training Program

The Cardiovascular Research Training Program provides financial and educational support for postdoctoral fellows who wish to develop careers as independent investigators in the general area of cardiovascular disease. The Program is administered by the Division of Cardiology; however, it is open to fellows from all academic Departments of the University. The Program is supported financially by a grant to the University of Washington from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The overall goal of the Program is to increase the number of well-trained cardiovascular researchers, with hopes that their professional efforts will improve the health of the American people. Our program emphasizes research at the interface of the laboratory and the clinic. We are interested in training clinician-scientists in cardiology, vascular and cardiothoracic surgery, and cardiovascular pathology. We are also interested in training postdoctoral fellows who have a Ph.D. degree and are interested in research that envisions a clinical application.

Each year the Program supports up to eight postdoctoral fellows to work with any of approximately 35 faculty mentors. All mentors are full-time faculty members at the University of Washington or affiliated institutions and were selected as Program faculty based on their accomplishments in research and their records in training postdoctoral fellows. The Program supports fellows with either the M.D. or Ph.D. degrees and is open only to US citizens or permanent residents. Research projects being pursued by the faculty and trainees in the Program generally fit into one of four areas:

• Signaling and vascular injury
• Cell and gene therapy
• Genetics of Cardiovascular Risk
• Biomechanics, Bioengineering, and Cardiovascular Imaging

Applicants interested in the Program must contact a member of the training faculty and, together with this faculty member, develop a research project and training plan. The training faculty mentors and summaries of their research are available via the link below.

Guidance for trainees and mentors in developing a training plan is available from the Training Program steering committee. The fellow and faculty member apply jointly to the steering committee for a funded position in the Program. The application process is competitive. Applicants that are ranked most highly are offered funded positions, usually for two years, with an option to reapply for a third year of support. Applications are accepted at least once per year and often twice.

A list of Program faculty and summaries of their research is available.