Post-Doctoral Training

The University of Virginia is widely recognized as one of the top cardiovascular research institutions in the world, and we have an outstanding record of training post-doctoral fellows for highly successful careers in academia, industry, and other biomedical science-related disciplines. We currently have >50 NIH-funded mentors who are involved in a wide range of areas of research in cardiovascular science and medicine including studies of basic cardiovascular development and function, as well as investigations into the pathogenesis of major cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, aneurysms, hypertension, heart failure, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Trainees get exposure to nearly all major scientific disciplines including cell and molecular biology, immunology, biomedical engineering, biophysics, structural biology, bioinformatics, data sciences, systems analyses, neuroscience, biochemistry, pharmacology, and genetics/omics. A major overall focus of our laboratories is to develop novel drugs, devices, diagnostic methods, imaging modalities, and other therapeutic approaches to advance the practice of medicine.

Post-doctoral fellows are affiliated with our internationally renowned Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC). In addition, those who qualify* can compete for a competitive position on our NIH T32 Basic and Translational Cardiovascular Training Grant (CVTG), which works with the CVRC work to provide:

  1. Stipend support and health insurance coverage.
  2. Travel money to attend and present your research at national and international scientific meetings.
  3. Specialized CVTG training activities including cardiovascular biology and disease courses; monthly research in progress sessions, journal clubs, grant writing workshops and grant brewing sessions; a weekly seminar series; a trainee-run professional career development course with expert guest lecturers from a wide range of scientific disciplines and types of research careers.
  4. Clinical rotations with cardiovascular clinical scientists to provide you exposure to patients, current therapies, and overall treatment approaches and deficiencies.
  5. An individual training program customized to your skills, competencies, and professional aspirations.
  6. A unique team-based training environment where you will closely interact with other students, post-doctoral fellows and faculty, in addition to your post-doctoral mentor or co-mentors, and thesis committee members.

Our current group of NIH funded mentors is listed under the “Mentors tab” above. We encourage you to contact any of our mentors whose research you find of interest. You may also want to contact Dr. Gary K. Owens (gko@virginia.eduhttps://www.cvrc.virginia.edu/Owens/) who is Director of our CVRC and PI of our NIH T32 CVTG, since he may be able to help you identify CVRC mentors who can best help you achieve your long term professional goals.

* NIH restricts training grant support to permanent residents and citizens of the US.

Application Information

Application Instructions for the CVRC Training Grant

To apply, you must be nominated by a current UVA mentor. Please send the following to Mary Sheffer

  1. Mentor’s full CV including current grant support should be provided as a separate document (pdf format).
  2. Provide an Excel spreadsheet of your former trainees using the appropriate T32 table as a template (Excel format).
  3. Additional documents needed to complete the application (pdf format):
    1. Application form
    2. Mentor nomination letter
    3. Candidate full CV
    4. Mentor NIH Biosketch
    5. 3 Candidate LORs
    6. Candidate transcripts

Contact Mary Sheffer or call 434-243-9943 with any questions.