Another critical aspect of our training program is our steadfast commitment to a superior and nurturing training environment for our predoctoral trainees, postdoctoral trainees and clinician-scientists. Our training faculty are uniformly committed to monitoring our personnel for success in every way possible, to not only ensure their future placement in the academic ranks but to also build a stronger cardiovascular community around the country.

The current National Institutes of Health-sponsored Research and Training in Cardiovascular Biology was instituted in 1978 by Arnold Schwartz, MD, PhD. This program has trained more than 120 scientists, who have pursued independent research careers and are holding prominent scientific positions worldwide. Our trainees have been distinguished as chairs of basic science departments, directors of centers or pharmaceutical companies, clinical directors and tenured faculty members in academic research.

The overall emphasis continues to focus on integrative training and well-rounded knowledge of the fundamentals in biochemical, molecular, physiological and pharmacological underpinnings of cardiovascular disease. Dr. Schwartz has been a constant guiding force since the program was established.

The presence of this training program since 1978 has fostered the growth of many departments and programs at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and has served as the catalyst for faculty recruitment and retention. Cardiovascular research has been a proud tradition for the College of Medicine and remains one of its top areas of research emphasis. Several departments place a strong and prime nucleus of faculty programs in cardiovascular research and this has provided solid basis for attaining top rankings in the country.

Our current faculty continues to lead the College of Medicine in funding levels and productivity, comprising the very nucleus of our entire campus. This nucleus of excellence in cardiovascular research has grown synergistically under the auspices of the current NIH-funded training award, providing reciprocal reinforcement that ensured our continued research excellence and our ability to train and place top scientists in academics and leadership positions.

In addition, the College of Medicine has committed to the University of Cincinnati Cardiovascular Institute (one of four centers of excellence) and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, whose physicians and scientists comprise the College of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics, has invested significantly in its Heart Institute over the past several years. There is integration and synergy between these centers with new faculty recruits and expansion of research programs and technology.

The University of Cincinnati, with Cincinnati Children’s, has also developed a reputation as a leading center for the generation and analysis of genetically modified mouse models for interrogation of gene-disease relationships in the heart. This theme has been expanded to incorporate molecular genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics, as we continue to be among the leaders in the nation in molecular pathway analysis associated with single gene manipulations in the hearts of mice.

Most faculty and trainees are using these approaches, but they are also well-versed in many other aspects of cardiovascular science, including excellence in basic physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, structural biology and molecular biology. Thus, we are a rare conglomeration of faculty in which all aspects of cardiovascular biology are practiced, starting with cutting-edge molecular and genetic approaches, spanning more traditional cellular and whole animal approaches to build an integrated network of functional and disease-relevant data and extending to translational research incorporating cell therapy.

Departments Involved

Our program faculty is diversified and belongs to six different departments and several divisions at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

This diversity offers a wide range of selection for trainees, input from faculty with different backgrounds in their committees and the ability to broaden their training through the extensive collaborative network that our faculty has established.

This collaborative atmosphere is one of our strongest assets and it has certainly provided the underpinnings for the extraordinary productivity and national stature of our group. It also provides an ideal training environment for predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees as they routinely train in multiple laboratories and receive mentorship from many different faculty members.

Our physician-scientist faculty, together with existing faculty, will significantly strengthen our translational edge providing yet another critical facet to our training program. However, our selection of faculty is not simply driven by their funding level or national stature, but rather by adhering to our common cardiovascular research theme and above all, dedication to training.