Cardiovascular Research and Drug Development (CRDD) training program

Baylor College Of Medicine, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

The mission of the ‘Cardiovascular Research and Drug Development’ (CRDD) training program at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is to train predoctoral (PhD and MD/PhD) students by integrating them into the forefront of a highly interactive and cross-disciplinary research community in the world’s largest medical center. Our goal is to train future scientists and physician-scientists focused on increasing the basic understanding of cardiovascular disease and on discovering and developing new treatments modalities for affected patients. Predoctoral trainees will be selected from among 7 graduate (PhD) programs at BCM and the biomedical engineering program at Rice University. The CRDD program consists of formal didactic courses, responsible conduct of research courses, grant writing courses, and intense personalized mentoring. Trainees also participate in mentored journal clubs, attend biweekly seminars, and present at an annual symposium. All mentors and mentees are required to take National Research Mentor Network (NRMN) courses. Program leadership will train junior faculty to become future preceptors in the program. The rich training environment includes facilities and programs provided by the Cardiovascular Research Institute and the Center for Drug Discovery at BCM. Other unique aspects of our program include a Therapeutics Module comprised of a journal club, student focused presentations, and fireside discussions with leaders from the biotech/pharma industry. This will expose students to the nuances of modern cardiovascular therapeutic development. Finally, our program will foster internship opportunities at local biotech companies for students to directly observe and participate in aspects of therapeutic development. The 21 CRDD mentors (basic scientists and physician-scientist) have a strong scientific background and excellent track record of success in trainee productivity and career outcomes. The predoctoral trainees who trained in their laboratories during the past 10 years collectively published 381 papers, including many in high impact journals. Of the training grant eligible (TGE) predoctoral trainees who completed their Ph.D. degree, 98% had a minimum of one first-author published paper with an average of 2.5 first author (range 0-10) and an average of 5.5 total publications (range, 1-22). During the past 5 years alone, our preceptors mentored a total of 39 predoctoral TGE trainees. Of the TGE predoctoral trainees who completed their training, 95% have remained in research-intensive or research-related fields, and 48% remain affiliated with academic medical centers. Notably, 3 recent (<5 years) graduates have already been appointed to tenured or tenure-track faculty positions at academic institutions, and 64% of trainees have garnered independent research funding. Thus, our CRDD training program mentors have an exceptional track record of attracting and training students for productive careers in cardiovascular research and drug discovery.