Cardiovascular Intervention Program

Fellowship Opportunities

The cardiovascular intervention laboratory is accepting applications for two-year research fellowships in cardiovascular interventional MRI and related research beginning July 2007.

Fellows should have completed clinical training in cardiology and preferably interventional cardiology, and should have some familiarity with magnetic resonance imaging. Exceptions are possible. Fellows are selected for their background, capabilities, enthusiasm, and proven record of initiating and completing projects.

Fellows are recruited for positions in three tracks. However, all fellows cross-train and participate in major projects of all other fellows.

1. Mechanical Interventions (Interventional MRI) Track

This research fellow has primary responsibility for the interventional MRI program, including scheduling and conducting large mammal research in novel therapeutic mechanical procedures using real-time MRI.

Recent projects have included targeted delivery of therapeutic cell preparations to myocardial infarct borders, real-time MRI delivery of endografts in model abdominal aortic aneurysm, stenting of model. Ongoing projects include recanalization of total arterial occlusions and extra-luminal vascular interventions beginning with atrial septostomy. Ongoing and future projects include extra-anatomic bypass and cerclage annuloplasty for mitral valve regurgitation.

This fellow also leads the effort at clinical translation of these animal experiments into human treatments.

2. Biological Interventions Track

This research fellow has primary responsibility for “high risk” non-clinical and preclinical animal research into biological treatments including therapeutic cell preparations and therapeutic angiogenesis for myocardial and lower extremity ischemia and for myocardial infarction.

Recent projects have included unsuccessful attempts at immunomodulation to treat atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction. Ongoing and future projects include rat myocardial infarction and hindlimb models of xenotransplantation to support human trials of selected mononuclear cell transfer, and of mesenenchymal cell preparations for myocardial salvage after infarction. Future clinical projects include primary mobilization of bone marrow progenitor cells with a novel agent.

This fellow also leads regulatory submissions to support clinical investigation of the above therapeutic strategies, and is expected to lead related clinical protocols.

3. Clinical Trials Track

This research fellow leads early phase clinical protocols of novel therapeutic agents from industry or intramural collaborators. This includes intensive training in Good Clinical Practice principles, clinical trials design and planning, endpoint assessment, and regulatory submission.

Ongoing projects include first-in-man gene transfer of a novel bioengineered transcription factor for therapeutic angiogenesis in subjects with intermittent claudication. Ongoing and future projects include a phase I trial of mesenchymal stromal cells in subjects after a recent acute myocardial infarction.

Other Benefits of Fellowship

• Clinical cardiovascular intervention at NHLBI. Please note this is not an ACGME-accredited clinical training program.
• Participation in all activities of the lab.
• Training in clinical peripheral artery disease (vascular medicine).
• Clinical magnetic resonance imaging for PAD.
• Formal training in cardiovascular MRI physics, from the Laboratory of Cardiac Energetics through Drs Andrew Arai and Anthony Aletras.
• Tuition-paid research-related coursework at the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) Graduate School at the NIH. Courses range from introduction to statistics to flow cytometry.
• Opportunity for collaborative research with other NIH investigators.
• Assistance finding an academic appointment upon completion of the fellowship.

Annual Workshop

AHA/NHLBI 5th Annual Workshop on Cardiovascular Interventional MRI.

Visitors

Investigators, potential investigators, and industry researchers are welcome to visit our laboratories. Visitors are encouraged to make arrangements in advance, and are encouraged to schedule their visits during large mammal interventional MRI experiments.

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