# Training Program in Cardiovascular Applied Research and Entrepreneurship

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · 2020 · $177,654

## Abstract

Project Summary
We are requesting renewal of our Training Program: Cardiovascular Applied Research and Entrepreneurship
(CARE). The creation of new cardiovascular technology that can be successfully commercialized and deployed
in the clinical environment relies on an array of skills and knowledge including engineering, cardiovascular
science, and entrepreneurship. Current training environments are not structured to cultivate these skills in a
single individual, and so teams of highly specialized professionals are formed. Inevitably, barriers to
communication exist between the disciplines and team members that invariably create inefficiencies in the long
and arduous process from idea conception to successful commercialization. We have proposed a new
paradigm for training translational cardiovascular researchers that includes the efficient acquisition of a base
skill set (or “fluency”) in three major disciplines (engineering, cardiovascular science, and entrepreneurship).
This is the CARE program, and the majority of trainees will pursue the doctoral degree in biomedical
engineering. We are requesting support for four pre-doctoral trainees. The Edwards Lifesciences Center for
Advanced Cardiovascular Technology along with UCI Graduate Division will support a further two students in
the program for a total of six at any one time. These trainees enter the program through three existing
pathways (or “feeder programs”) that include the medical scientist training program (MSTP), a mathematical
computational biology (MCB) “gateway” program, or the regular doctoral program in biomedical engineering.
Mechanisms to acquire fluency range from traditional didactic courses, original research leading to the doctoral
degree, training clubs, mentoring, creating a learning portfolio, and participation in UCI's annual business plan
competition. We will also create a home for the trainees in, and leverage resources from, The Edwards
Lifesciences Center for Advanced Cardiovascular Technology here at UCI. The program is creating a new
breed of cardiovascular researchers who can develop translatable technology more efficiently, and
communicate more effectively with professional entrepreneurs and clinicians. We launched successfully four
years ago and have already trained, or are in the process of training, 13 students. The T32 supports four of
these students in years two and three of their Ph.D. studies. As this is our first renewal, only one of our
students has so far graduated. This cohort of students has already published 25 papers and two
(independently) have won top awards in the campus-wide business plan competition. We believe the CARE
program has a high potential for future successes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9949751
- **Project number:** 5T32HL116270-08
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE
- **Principal Investigator:** CHRISTOPHER C. W. HUGHES
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $177,654
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-06-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9949751

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9949751, Training Program in Cardiovascular Applied Research and Entrepreneurship (5T32HL116270-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9949751. Licensed CC0.

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