Detroit Cardiovascular Training Program Receives Big Boost From NIH

Newswise — DETROIT – The Detroit Cardiovascular Training Program at Wayne State University received notice that funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will continue for the next five years with additional funding of $1.29 million. In addition, NIH has approved raising the trainee slots from four to six, strengthening the university’s ability to attract the most talented candidates searching for a cardiovascular graduate program.

The program, led by Jian-Ping Jin, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of physiology in Wayne State’s School of Medicine, began in 2014 to offer multidisciplinary and collaborative training efforts in educating a new generation of scientists who will pursue careers in cardiovascular research. Trainees will focus on improving health care and contribute to economic growth by creating innovations that will translate into medical practices.

“The program is the only pre-doctoral cardiovascular training T32 program in the state of Michigan, and this award affirms the strength of the cardiovascular research and education at Wayne State University,” said Phil Levy, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.E.P., F.A.H.A., F.A.C.C., assistant vice president of translational science and clinical research innovation at Wayne State. “Cardiovascular disease claims more lives than all forms of cancer combined every year, so programs such as this one are critical for training the next generation of scientists to improve heart health for generations to come.”

“This program provides rigorous formal research training for pre-doctoral graduate students,” said Jin. “Our team of 19 faculty members in four schools and colleges at Wayne State will offer broad and complementary scientific expertise in cardiovascular biology and diseases, preparing our trainees with strong backgrounds in molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular health and diseases using integrative and translational approaches to scientific investigation.”

Trainees in the program are selected from a high-quality pool of candidates, including under-represented minorities from various institutional programs such as NIH’s Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity in Wayne State University’s Department of Physiology.

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of mortality in the United States and around the world. Understanding the biology, physiology and pathology of the heart and circulation is critical to improving treatment and prevention. Wayne State’s competitive renewal of the project will contribute a major role in research education that will offer a new generation of scientists focused on improving healthcare outcomes in the Detroit region and around the world.

The grant number for this National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health is 2T32HL120822.

###

Wayne State University is one of the nation’s pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world. For more information about research at Wayne State University, visit http://www.research.wayne.edu.