While new classes of drugs and advances in surgical interventions has led to a decline in the cardiovascular
mortality rate, the incidence of cardiovascular disease has begun to rise again in recent years after decades of
decline, suggesting a continued investment in biomedical research will be critical to maintaining the progress we
have made in fighting this disease. Due to the complexity of cardiovascular disease and the growing availability
of advanced research techniques to understand these disease processes, it is imperative that the next
generation of research scientists receive training across a variety of disciplines, including cardiovascular
physiology, cellular and molecular biology, and disease pathogenesis. The NIH-funded Cardiovascular
Undergraduate Research Initiative fOr Underrepresented Students (CURIOUS) program was established in
2019 to enhance the access of minority and disadvantaged undergraduate students to advanced research
training in cardiovascular disease and to increase the recruitment of underrepresented students into our graduate
programs. However, the state of Louisiana currently lacks any NHLBI funded T32 programs to further graduate
training.
The Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences (CCDS) at LSU Health Shreveport includes a
collaborative, multi-departmental faculty with research interests across a wide variety of cardiovascular disease.
To facilitate graduate and postdoctoral training, the CCDS has funded 26 Predoctoral Fellows and 34
Postdoctoral Fellows over the past 8 years. The goal of the Multidisciplinary Training in Cardiovascular
Pathophysiology (MCTP) Training Program is to grow and formalize our graduate research program, to meet the
need for advanced interdisciplinary training for Predoctoral Fellows, and to provide a diverse pool of scientists
to the study of cardiovascular disease. Trainees within the MCTP will be exposed to inter-departmental training
initiatives, providing an extensive training experience that complements the individual departmental programs.
The MTCP training program will build on current training initiatives in the CCDS to provide the only cardiovascular
training program in Louisiana and the only training program in the state focused on disease pathogenesis. The
overall goals of the MTCP at LSU Health Shreveport are: 1) to provide opportunities for research training in state-
of-the-art research laboratories involving collaborative groups of established and emerging research scientists,
2) to establish a training program in cardiovascular pathophysiology involving didactic lectures, seminars and
interaction with world-renowned scientists, clinical research experiences, and multiple annual research events,
3) to further enhance the recruitment of underrepresented groups of scientists into cardiovascular research in
collaboration with the NIH-funded CURIOUS program, and 4) to enhance the professional development of our
trainees through access to advanced training for grant writing, and career skills seminars.