Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Disease Training Program

Translating advances in molecular and genetic medicine to patient care is a considerable challenge that sits at the core of the "road map" provided by the National Institutes of Health for applied research. Within a cardiovascular arena, meeting that challenge requires the careful selection and training of physician-scientists and doctoral candidates who not only are conversant in clinical aspects of cardiovascular disease but also understand the importance of molecular and genetic approaches to disease, appreciate the epidemiologic perspective on how these approaches affect health at the population level, and, most importantly, can utilize this knowledge to conduct prevention and treatment research that directly improves the health of individual patients.

The Division of Preventive Medicine is seeking candidates for predoctoral and postdoctoral training fellowships in the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease. Potential candidates must be enrolled in a formal degree program in epidemiology (doctoral program for predoctoral candidates, master's or doctoral program for postdoctoral candidates) at the Harvard School of Public Health and must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Underrepresented minority candidates are particularly encouraged to apply. The training grant, which is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, will provide the majority of tuition and fees, as well as a stipend.

The training program consists of:

• Formal coursework leading to a master's or doctoral degree in public health or epidemiology (MPH, MS, DrPH, or ScD) with particular emphasis on epidemiology, biostatistics, cardiovascular disease, and selected other disciplines related to the trainee's specific research interests.
• Seminars on the epidemiology of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases, as well as on methodologic issues related to cardiovascular research.
• Intensive research activities, in which each trainee will collaborate with one or more established mentors on a number of projects to gain experience in the design, conduct, and analysis of cardiovascular epidemiology research leading to publication in peer-reviewed journals

Upon completion of the program, trainees will be prepared to function effectively as independent investigators and teachers of the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease in academic or clinical settings.

Research activities will leverage the many large-scale epidemiologic studies currently funded to the Division of Preventive Medicine. These studies include both observational studies and randomized clinical trials, and associated plasma and DNA banks. These resources will provide significant opportunities for trainees to meld the practical research techniques of large-scale epidemiology with emerging molecular and genetic approaches.

For more information, write to the training program director at the address below. Please describe your interests and include a current CV or resume.

Paul M Ridker, MD
Director, Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Disease Training Program
Brigham and Women's Hospital
900 Commonwealth Avenue East, 3rd floor
Boston MA 02215-1205
617-732-8790
pridker@partners.org