The primary objective of the PRIDE Program in Cardiovascular Disease Comorbidities, Genetics, and Epidemiology (CVD-CGE) is to provide junior-level faculty and scientists, with backgrounds that are underrepresented in the biomedical sciences and/or who have a disability, with all-expenses-paid training and mentoring, so that they can competently and effectively develop independent research programs on cutting-edge Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep (HLBS) disorders. This initiative, to bring faculty and scientists particularly from underrepresented backgrounds into research, is important because of the major public health burden of these diseases, especially in minority populations.
Our program was designed to provide mentees with a working knowledge and appreciation for Cardiovascular Disease Comorbidities, Genetics and Epidemiology, 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 summers;
- Attend a 2 day, mid-year meeting between summers (Feb) and a
- 3-4 day PRIDE Annual Meeting in the Washington, DC area (April) and
- Development of competitive grant applications 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;
- Advise and Mentor the Mentees during the following year, in terms of the overall career development for initiating independent research plans dealing with HLBS disorders; and
- Help Mentees apply for the PRIDE Small Research Project and independent external research grants by taking full advantage of the extraordinary resources offered by participating institutions and Mentors.
- The core objective is to 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 the Mentors will be available to all Mentees. We believe that, by exposing our mentees to the full breadth and depth of ongoing research programs and resources at the participating institutions, we are ensuring that our Mentees will be fully integrated with the biomedical sciences in a very natural manner.