ABSTRACT
While cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the US, the
mortality burden of specific diseases has changed over the last few decades. Despite a decline in death rates
for coronary artery disease since 1970, heart failure (HF) prevalence and mortality have increased. The
expanded clinical burden, prognostic import, and health needs related to HF highlight the importance of
complementary training of teams of basic, clinical, and population scientists. Hence, we propose the Basic
and Translational Science in Heart Failure (BTSHF) Training Program, designed to specifically mentor
clinical and research post-doctoral trainees in broad aspects of HF pathophysiology (disease mechanisms),
diagnostics (biomarkers and imaging), therapeutics (pharmacological, biological, devices), epidemiology
(population science, personalized medicine, and clinical outcomes), as well as relevant methodologies
(disease models, stem cells, ‘omics’ approaches, and biostatistics). At the heart of the training program reside
three thematic cores - Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms; New Diagnostics and Therapeutics; and Clinical
Epidemiology and Outcomes. In close collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Office
of Postdoctoral Education and Center for Clinical and Translational Science, the 2 to 3 year BTSHF training
program has been specifically tailored to foster the development of future translational researchers
with scientific interests in HF. This includes establishment of a new interdisciplinary didactic course that
exposes trainees to cutting edge scientific techniques (e.g., non-invasive imaging, translational study design,
large data set analysis) and concepts (e.g., cardiometabolics, epigenetics, inflammation, tissue regeneration).
The program also takes advantage of multiple seminar series and symposia organized by various UAB
Departments and Centers, including the Comprehensive Cardiovascular Center. A diverse group of primary
faculty from multiple Departments/Schools have been assembled, who possess established track records in
HF related research and/or mentorship, as well as several secondary and junior faculty, whose collective
expertise span the three scientific cores. Highly meritorious MD and PhD fellows will be recruited and
matched with a mentoring team consisting of four complementary faculty mentors from the distinct
scientific cores, including one junior faculty. Trainee progress and mentorship effectiveness will be evaluated
at regular intervals, and facilitated throughout the training period by established mechanisms, including
mentoring roundtables. The proposed program is enriched further by the highly collaborative and
interdisciplinary environment afforded by our institution, which has a longstanding track record in both
cardiovascular and translational research, as well as in mentorship of future independent researchers and
scientific leaders. Establishment of the BTSHF program will ensure adequate training of future
translational researchers armed with the appropriate skills to tackle the growing HF epidemic.