The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has awarded a grant to fund the Cardiopulmonary Research Training Program. This program is co-directed by Gideon Koren, MD, director of the Cardiovascular Research Center at Rhode Island Hospital and professor of medicine at The Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University and Sharon Rounds, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the medical service at the Providence VA Medical Center. The NHLBI grant funds research training for between four and eight MD and/or PhD post-doctoral fellows each year, for the next five years. The grant totals $2,414,423 for those years.
The Cardiopulmonary Research Training Program trains physicians and scientists in basic science and its application to the understanding of cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases and the outcomes of prevention and treatment of these diseases. Trainees will participate in one of three tracks: cardiovascular molecular pathobiology; pulmonary molecular pathobiology; or cardiopulmonary health services and outcomes research. The fellowship program will include: classroom sessions at Brown; intensive mentored research experience; and career development training, including presentation skills and grant/manuscript preparation.
Dr. Koren, of the Cardiovascular Research Center and Department of Medicine said, “This grant is the first for our center and the Division of Cardiology to focus on training the next generation of physician-scientists. It differs from most fellowship programs that focus on training clinicians to directly care for patients. Through this grant, we will position ourselves to become a premier training center in the country. ”
Dr. Rounds, of the Brown Pulmonary/Critical Care Division, continued, “Because cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., we need more researchers who can work to find the cures for these diseases. We also must train professors who will teach tomorrow’s medical students in this world of evolving technology. Having that link between clinic, classroom and lab is crucial.”
The Cardiopulmonary Research Training Program is supported by Rhode Island Hospital, a Lifespan partner, and is based at the Coro Center, One Hoppin Street in Providence. There are program has 40 faculty trainers from Rhode Island Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, the Providence VA Medical Center, Women and Infants Hospital and Brown University. The program is multidisciplinary, with faculty from 11 academic departments at Brown, ranging from engineering and computational biology to family medicine and community health.
The Cardiopulmonary Research Training Program is now recruiting appropriate trainees. Interested potential applicants are encouraged to contact MaryAnn Machado at mmachado@lifespan.org .
Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute plans, conducts, and supports research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep disorders. The Institute also administers national health education campaigns on women and heart disease, healthy weight for children, and other topics. More information can be found at www.nhlbi.nih.gov .
