The primary objective of the PRIDE Program in Cardiovascular Disease Comorbidities, Genetics, and Epidemiology (CVD-CGE) is to provide research education experiences that enable junior faculty and transitioning postdoctoral scientists from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups that are underrepresented in the biomedical sciences (see e.g., NOT-OD-20-031), to further develop their research skills and knowledge to become competitive NIH grants applicants and scientists. PRIDE offers hands-on, mentored research experiences, small project awards for pilot research, and grant writing courses. The goal is to increase diversity in the biomedical research workforce while enabling early career investigators to become competitive independent scientists in heart, lung, blood, and sleep (HLBS) research.
Our program was designed to provide mentees with a working knowledge and appreciation for Cardiovascular Disease Comorbidities, Genetics, Epidemiology, Global Health, Implementation Science, and Data Science/Bioinformatics and to integrate these skills with their substantive research interests in CVD and HLBS problems.
- Participation in the program will require mentees to:
- Participate in a 2-week Summer Institute during each of two consecutive summers;
- Attend a 2 day, mid-year meeting between summers (Feb-March);
- Attend a 3-4 day PRIDE Annual Meeting in the Washington, DC area (April);
- Develop a competitive grant application for a Small Research Project (SRP); and
- Establish a long-term networking relationship with a Mentor to advance your own research career.
The objectives of the PRIDE Program in Cardiovascular Disease Comorbidities, Genetics and Epidemiology are to:
- Provide fundamental training in cardiovascular disease comorbidities, genetics, and epidemiology, including topics related to dissemination and implementation science, global health, data science, and other crosscutting topics relevant to HLBS disorders;
- Advise and provide mentorship for mentees during the following year to include development of an independent scientific program, identifying opportunities for networking, and overall career development;
- Help mentees apply for the PRIDE SRPs and independent external research grants by taking full advantage of the extraordinary resources offered by participating institutions and mentors;
- Prepare mentees to pursue independent research in one of the HLBS areas through submission of research grants within 2 years of second summer training.
One of the great strengths of this all-expenses-paid program is that the vast resources and rich research and training environment in the labs of PRIDE Mentors will be available to all Mentees. By exposing our mentees to the full breadth and depth of ongoing research programs and resources at both Washington University and the mentee’s institutions, we ensure that our Mentees will be fully integrated with the biomedical sciences in a very natural manner.