Program Overview

The Vascular Biology, Signaling and Therapeutics (VBST) training program is designed to be interdisciplinary, drawing on institutional expertise in four themes: Angiogenesis & Regeneration, Vascular Signaling, Neurovascular Biology and Vascular Therapeutics. VBST is made up of twenty-six (26) mentors, of which nine (9) are physician-scientists. This training program will utilize expertise within and interactions between the themes to train predoctoral and postdoctoral applicants in an integrative fashion.

The overarching goals of the VBST at UIC are:

1. Attract outstanding trainees representing diverse disciplines, from molecular to physiological, computational, bioengineering, bioinformatics or drug discovery.
2. Provide trainees with rigorous, comprehensive knowledge in the fundamental science of VBST.
3. Assure that VBST trainees understand clinical activities and treatments for vascular diseases.
4. Teach trainees in multidisciplinary scientific approaches that promote integrative, divergent thinking.
5. Build a community of scientists and mentors seeking new approaches and collaborations dedicated to cures for vascular disease by leveraging an intellectually diverse interdisciplinary community.

The VBST-TP is funded by training grant (T32 HL144459) from the National, Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).