Our Basic and Translational Cardiovascular Research Training Program (CVTP) provides broad interdisciplinary training in studies of basic cardiovascular biology and disease as well other diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases where cardiovascular dysfunction plays a critical role. Trainees get exposure to nearly all major scientific disciplines including cell and molecular biology, immunology, biomedical engineering and medical imaging, biophysics, structural biology, bioinformatics, data sciences, systems analyses, neuroscience, biochemistry, pharmacology, and genetics/omics. In addition, there is now compelling evidence that many of the exciting new anti-cancer drugs while highly effective in treating cancer, they greatly exacerbate CVD progression such that many cancer survivors are more likely to die of CVD rather than to reoccurrence of their cancer. As such there is an urgent need for training biomedical scientists to study CVD mechanisms and to develop more effective therapies to treat or prevent it, as well as alternative drugs for treating other non-CVD diseases that do not have the unfortunate side effect of exacerbating CVD development. Indeed, CVD and CVD-related deaths are expected to markedly increase in prevalence in the next decade due to global Westernization and the associated obesity epidemic which accelerates the progression of CVD resulting in much earlier onset of late-stage clinical events including heart attacks, stroke, and heart failure. However, unfortunately this has only modestly reduced CVD and CVD-related deaths. Research advances, including many developed here at UVA, have led to the identification of powerful new therapies for reducing cholesterol levels and for treating high blood pressure or hypertension. Thus, highly innovative and high impact CVD research is not only timely, it’s imperative for human health. Taken together, CVD and CVD-related diseases account for >80% of all deaths globally. CVD or cardiovascular dysfunction also contributes to marked exacerbation of a number of major non-CVD diseases including cancer, renal failure, neurodegenerative disease, and the clinical complications of diabetes.
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