Project Details
Projekt
Understanding of InterOrgan Networks in Cardiac and Vascular Diseases (UNION-CVD)
Applicant
Professorin Dr. Stefanie Hahner
Subject Area
Cardiology, Angiology
Term
since 2018
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 413657723
The Clinician-Scientist Program (CSP) aims at developing a generation of young clinician scientists (CSs) defining new research fields for a better “Understanding of InterOrgan Networks in Cardiac and Vascular Diseases (UNION-CVD)”. It qualifies CSs for interdisciplinary and innovative translational research and patient care on cardiovascular disorders and comorbid diseases. The program builds on a long tradition of interdisciplinary research in the framework of clinical research consortia and the German Comprehensive Heart Failure Center. CSs investigate cardiac and vascular diseases as systems disorders affecting also other organs such as brain and kidney, as well as endocrine systems. A particular focus is on imaging/ digital strategies as well as mechanistic links such as inflammation and genetics as basis for developing new therapeutic approaches. High-quality mentoring is provided by a core group of dedicated clinical and basic research scientists who build the steering committee of the program. They are supported by a larger group of clinical and scientific mentors who are experienced with research on cardiovascular disorders and their comorbidities. Each CS participating in the program is supervised by a three-person interdisciplinary mentoring team consisting of a clinical mentor, a scientific mentor, and a steering committee member. The scientific environment allows the young CCs to identify and develop their own research projects at the intersection of established research fields. The three-year program relies on a combination of protected research and clinical time with structured training programs allowing CSs scientific and clinical qualification at the same time. The organizational framework for participating CSs includes supporting structures, tools and rules to assure high-quality training, qualification, mentoring, networking and internationalization measures, quality assurance and reporting. The UNION-CVD CSP relies on gender equality, diversity as well as on family compatibility as fundamental preconditions for high-end research, career advancement and patient care.The UNION-CVD CSP is embedded in the Integrative Clinician Scientist College (ICSC) Würzburg that was established as an umbrella structure to provide a framework for all CSPs at the Faculty of Medicine assuring uniform basic conditions and warranting efficient use of resources. The ICSC is under the governance of the Faculty’s Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research (IZKF) and its External Scientific Advisory Board. The Faculty of Medicine has itself committed to sustain the CSPs in the long-run.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
