# Cardiovascular Research and Drug Development (CRDD) training program

> **NIH NIH T32** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2024 · $286,968

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The mission of the ‘Cardiovascular Research and Drug Development’ (CRDD) training program at Baylor College
of Medicine (BCM) is to train predoctoral (PhD and MD/PhD) students by integrating them into the forefront of a
highly interactive and cross-disciplinary research community in the world’s largest medical center. Our goal is to
train a diverse group of future scientists and physician-scientists focused on increasing the basic understanding
of cardiovascular disease and on discovering and developing new treatments modalities for affected patients.
 Predoctoral trainees will be selected from among 7 graduate (PhD) programs at BCM. Moreover,
prospective PhD students will be recruited from several postbaccalaureate programs at BCM and allied HBCUs,
two avenues proven to increase the number of applicants from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. The
CRDD program consists of formal didactic courses, responsible conduct of research courses, grant writing
courses, and intense personalized mentoring. Trainees also participate in mentored journal clubs, attend
biweekly seminars, and present at an annual symposium. All mentors and mentees are required to take National
Research Mentor Network (NRMN) courses. Program leadership will train junior faculty to become future
preceptors in the program. The rich training environment includes facilities and programs provided by the
Cardiovascular Research Institute and the Center for Drug Discovery at BCM. Other unique aspects of our
program include a Therapeutics Module comprised of a journal club, student focused presentations, and fireside
discussions with leaders from the biotech/pharma industry. This will expose students to the nuances of modern
cardiovascular therapeutic development. Finally, our program will foster internship opportunities at local biotech
companies for students to directly observe and participate in aspects of therapeutic development.
 The 21 CRDD mentors (basic scientists and physician-scientist) have a diverse scientific background
and a strong track record of success in trainee productivity and career outcomes. The predoctoral trainees who
trained in their laboratories during the past 10 years collectively published 381 papers, including many in high
impact journals. Of the TGE predoctoral trainees who completed their Ph.D. degree, 97% had a minimum of one
first-author published paper with an average of 2.5 first author (range 0-10) and an average of 5.5 total
publications (range, 1-22). During the past 5 years alone, our preceptors mentored a total of 39 predoctoral
training grant eligible (TGE) trainees; 28% of those are from underrepresented groups. Of the TGE predoctoral
trainees who completed their training, 95% have remained in research-intensive or research-related fields, and
48% remain affiliated with academic medical centers. Notably, 3 recent (<5 years) graduates have already been
appointed to tenured or tenure-track faculty positions at academic inst...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10932571
- **Project number:** 1T32HL170967-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Xander H.T. Wehrens
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $286,968
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-01 → 2029-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10932571

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10932571, Cardiovascular Research and Drug Development (CRDD) training program (1T32HL170967-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10932571. Licensed CC0.

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