The CVRC Training Grant
History
The cardiovascular training and research program was founded 37 years ago by Dr. Robert M. Berne as a departmentally-based PhD program with faculty expertise focused on cardiovascular physiology. Our trainees now occupy positions as teachers, scholars, investigators and chairs of departments around the globe, and they have had, and continue to have, a major impact on the understanding of cardiovascular function and pathology. In 1992, under the leadership of Dr. Brian Duling, the program underwent a major reorganization and transformation into a multidisciplinary, basic-science effort incorporating the resources of several departments and training programs, and the focus was sharpened on Vascular Biology. For almost three decades, the University of Virginia has had a history of excellence in research into the function and pathology of the cardiovascular system. In this rich research environment, a vigorous and effective training program for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows has evolved, and is now reflected in our Vascular Biology Training Program. This unique, interdisciplinary program offers broad training in the cardiovascular sciences, and specializes in the study of vascular biology. We provide students with a flexible, yet comprehensive educational experience, and graduates of our program are thoroughly prepared for a research career in this critical area of biomedical research.
The Facility
The University of Virginia is located in the city of Charlottesville, where it serves as a major tertiary-care health sciences center for a large geographic area, centered in central-western Virginia. The Training Grant faculty members occupy space in several contiguous buildings including: Jordan Hall, Medical Research Building 4 (MR-4), and Medical Research Building 5 (MR-5), which was opened in 2002. Large areas of the Old Medical School hospital have also been renovated in order to provide additional modern laboratory space. In Jordan Hall, research space is distributed almost equally among the basic science departments (Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics; Cell Biology; Microbiology; Molecular Physiology & Biological Physics; and Pharmacology). MR-5 is the home for the Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center. Construction continues on a new research building, MR-6, which will provide new space to the Beirne Carter Immunology Center and UVa Cancer Center, close allies of the Cardiovascular Research Center.
The Program
Under the broad heading of cardiovascular research, with an emphasis on vascular biology, we can provide training in such diverse fields as gene regulation and differentiation in smooth muscle, molecular biology of smooth and cardiac muscle, receptor function and signal transduction in smooth muscle and endothelial cells, matrix and adhesion molecules in endothelial cell function, cell-cell communication, vascular development and inflammation, angiogenesis, and remodeling. The addition of our new programs in mouse genetics and the expanded cardiovascular imaging program offer future trainees the opportunity to follow physiology and pathophysiology of the cardiovascular system, from molecule to man.
Pre-Doctoral Students
During the first year, the students take courses, complete 2-3 laboratory rotations, and select a mentor, after which they apply to the Basic Cardiovascular Research Training Grant. Our training grant assists the interdisciplinary programs in recruiting and course development during the first year of training, and then works closely with the degree granting departments and programs during the remainder of student's time here. The supervision of the trainees during their time on the grant falls to the Training Grant Program Directors, the Training Grant Executive Committee, and the Training Grant Faculty.
Required courses and experiences for trainees under the training grant supervision include:
BIMS 710 - Biomedical ethics - (see course comments below).
BIMS 852 - Vascular Cell Biology - This course was developed specifically for our training program, and the focus is on the developmental biology, pharmacology, and physiology of smooth muscle, endothelial cells, and leukocytes. The course is taught every other year. It is also commonly audited by fellows in Cardiovascular Medicine and Pediatric Cardiology and is taken by all trainees.
BIMS 832- Graduate Physiology - The increasing demands for interdisciplinary and translational research have led us to initiate a new graduate course in Organ Systems Physiology. This course is organized and taught by one of our faculty (Dr. Paula Barrett) and covers the discipline of physiology with an emphasis on the thought process and on an understanding of the basic principles of mammalian function. Several of the Training Grant Faculty including Drs. Duling, Owens, Barrett, Guyenet, and Garrison teach in the course.
BIMS 853, 854 - Modern Literature in Cardiovascular Research - This is a new and innovative addition to our course offerings which has been spearheaded by one of our former trainees, Dr. Brant Isakson. It is a modular mini-course consisting of 4-week blocks of material of interest to cardiovascular researchers. In the year since its inception we have had blocks on cell-cell communication, theory and practice of MRI, and smooth muscle differentiation (see Appendix). For the fall semester of 2006 we will offer blocks in signaling in smooth muscle, vascular inflammation, and vascular pharmacology.
Post-Doctoral Fellows
Training of postdoctoral fellows is guided primarily by the mentor, with consultation of the Training Grant Executive Committee. The aim for postdoctoral fellows is to complete the training process for a career as an independent scientist or educator. Accordingly, the fellows are treated as junior colleagues, and commonly interact with more than one faculty member during the training period. The program is based on the idea that the outstanding postdoctoral trainee requires essentially two things: freedom to pursue an exciting research program, and the financial support which allows this pursuit. The basis for the exciting research program is presumed to be the ongoing research program of an established mentor's laboratory, and the financial support for research is provided by the funding of those programs. We are fortunate at this university in having extensive cooperation between the basic science departments and the clinical fellowship programs. As a result, MD's and PhD's move side-by-side through their post-doctoral training.