PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT CANDIDATE: Dr. Maria Odette Gore is a board certified cardiologist and clinical investigator with a strong research interest in preventive cardiology and commitment to academic medicine. She completed Cardiology Research training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) on the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Research Pathway, and accepted a full-time faculty position in the Division of Cardiology at UTSW on September 1, 2015. During residency and fellowship, Dr. Gore’s mentored research projects focused on several aspects related to cardiovascular disease prevention, resulting in the publication of >25 peer-reviewed articles in prestigious journals and 2 book chapters (total 14 first-author publications). During fellowship, Dr. Gore also completed a Master of Science in Clinical Science program at UTSW, served as an ad-hoc reviewer for many journals and as an abstract grader for four American Heart Association (AHA) conferences, and was the recipient of the 2013 Women in Cardiology Trainee Award for Excellence from the AHA. Key projects that Dr. Gore led or participated in during fellowship include analyses of cardiac biomarkers in large population-based cohorts; registry-based and population-based cohort studies on the association between diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease; and a two-phase pilot study exploring the community blood donation program as portal for cardiovascular risk factor screening, with potential for intervention. The present proposal represents a logical continuation of this latest study, as well as a conduit for further essential training in community health and prevention research, health communication science, advanced clinical research methods, and research leadership and grant writing strategies. The PI’s long-term career goal is to become a recognized leader and innovator in patient-oriented research in the field of cardiovascular (CV) disease prevention. In the medium-term, her goal is to become an independent, R01-funded investigator contributing to the development of novel approaches to CV disease risk assessment, risk communication, and primary and secondary prevention. For the short-term, this proposal outlines clear training and research objectives which will be achieved through structured learning, including courses and workshops, and further hands-on research apprenticeship with an outstanding team of highly accomplished, extramurally-funded mentors, advisors and consultants. Attainment of these objectives will be a crucial stepping-stone for Dr. Gore’s future success as independent investigator. ENVIRONMENT: The PI works at one the top academic medical centers in the country, with 6 Nobel Prize winners (more than any other medical school in the world), and more than $400 million in annual research funding for over 3,500 research projects. The primary mentor for this project is Dr. James de Lemos, a recognized leader in the field with an outstandin...