DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): An expectation of training in research today is interdisciplinary teams and technology to solve complex biological problems of which cardiovascular (CVD) is a prototypical example. Coupled with diminishing research budget allocations there is a significant need to reform training programs. In this period of challenge, there is an unprecedented need to address multiple areas of deficiency including (a) core technology proficiency (b) mentorship (c) recruitment and retention of trainees including minority applicants and (d) specialized training paths for physician-scientists. In this renewal application of the Vascular Biology Training Program, two existing T32 programs (The Vascular Biology Training Program and the Training Program in Cardiac Vascular and Cell Biology) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have been merged to create the Interdisciplinary Training Program in Cardiovascular Disease (ITCVD-T32) that will educate an elite cohort of five predoctoral and 5 post-doctoral trainees. The program will emphasize research training in five key areas that are nationally recognized at UMSOM including Inflammation and Immunological Mechanisms of Cardiovascular Disease; Hypertension and Vascular Pathophysiology; Heart Function, Failure and Arrythmias, Cardiac Repair and Regeneration and Genetics and Genomics of Cardiovascular Disease. The ITCVD-T32 will be governed by the T32 steering committee which comprises 2 highly accomplished co- directors (a translational/basic scientist and physician/scientist) with strong NIH funded programs with additional oversight by external and internal advisory committees. Our pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainees can pick from 39 outstanding and well-funded mentors (with over $22 million in direct costs of grant support) representing 9 basic science and clinical departments within the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland College Park. The faculty includes those located within the Center for Vascular and Inflammatory Diseases (CVID), Center for Biomedical Engineering and Technology, the Program for Personalized and Genomic Medicine, as well as members of the Department of Physiology and the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine within the Department of Medicine. The juxtaposition of resources with a cross- disciplinary mesh of investigators will provide unparalleled opportunities for training th next generation of CVD investigators. (End of Abstract)