DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant):Project(Summary/Abstract The candidate holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University and is currently a Research Associate at Mayo Clinic. His research interests are in the field of cardiovascular tissue engineering. His graduate thesis work involved a molecular biology approach for improving endothelial cell retention to vascular grafts. This led to his postdoctoral work which involves an engineering approach for improving capture and retention of endothelial cells to vascular stents and grafts. His postdoctoral work also involves a tissue engineered cardiac valve project to explore both biological and biosynthetic approaches. The candidate's immediate career goal is to transition from mentored to independent research by completing his postdoctoral training and beginning a tenure track faculty position at a major research university. This will require focusing his current projects into a novel research direction while also receiving additional training that will be needed to successfully complete the current and future projects as an independent investigator. The K99/R00 mechanism is the ideal means of achieving this goal. The candidate's long term career goal is to establish an independent and extramurally funded research program within the field of cardiovascular tissue engineering in order to meaningfully improve patient care and train the next generation of scientists, physicians, and engineers. Research career development during the award will include working with an interdisciplinary mentoring team of clinicians, scientists, and engineers. The candidate's primary mentor, Dr. Amir Lerman, M.D., is the Chair of Cardiovascular Research at Mayo Clinic and provides expertise in endothelial cell and vascular biology. The candidate's co-mentors are Dr. Gurpreet Sandhu, M.D., Ph.D. who is the Chair of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Mayo Clinic and provides expertise in clinical device prototype design and testing, Dr. Dan Dragomir-Daescu, Ph.D. who is a principal engineer at Mayo Clinic and provides expertise in engineering design and analysis, and Dr. Robert Tranquillo, Ph.D. who is Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota and provides expertise in biomedical engineering and cardiovascular tissue engineering. Working with his mentors, the candidate will train in clinical device prototype design, porcine model analysis of novel vascular grafts, ovine model analysis of novel cardiac valves, advanced magnetic nanoparticle synthesis, and advanced electrospinning techniques. The candidate will also train in other essential skills including responsible conduct of research, grantsmanship, communication of research findings, mentoring, and project management. Finally, educational opportunities such a graduate coursework in regenerative medicine, cardiovascular physiology, data analysis, and statistics as well as various...