2020 Postdocs Enter T32 Research Training Program
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The Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery has enrolled two more trainees into its two-year T32 Research Training Program in Cardiovascular Surgery, which exists to facilitate the successful advancement of translational investigators whose work alleviates suffering from cardiovascular diseases.
Funded by a T32 grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), this program is led by Principal Investigator/Program Director Todd K. Rosengart, M.D., chair of the Department of Surgery, and Program Co-Directors, Scott A. LeMaire, M.D., vice chair for research, and Barbara W. Trautner, M.D., Ph.D., director of clinical research. The program is founded on the idea that interdisciplinary collaborations between clinical investigators, bench scientists, and diverse specialists are essential for translational research to have a tangible impact on clinical care.
The T32 Research Program has three tracks. The Basic and Translational Research Track involves training in laboratory-based research focused on understanding and addressing cardiovascular diseases. The Bioengineering and Biodesign Track involves training and certification in the Texas Medical Center Biodesign Fellowship Program and working within a multidisciplinary team to develop a medical device or digital tool. The Clinical and Outcomes Research Track emphasizes developing skills in health services research or in conducting clinical trials with the ability to improve healthcare outcomes in cardiovascular disease. Trainees in this track may enter the UTHealth School of Public Health’s program for a master’s degree, or they may enter Baylor’s Clinical Scientist Training Program and complete a degree in clinical investigation.
Ishan Kamat, M.D., M.B.A., graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Biochemistry and then earned his M.D. and M.B.A. from the dual-degree program at Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University. Dr. Kamat joins our T32 program as part of residency training in internal medicine as a MeRIT (Medical Resident Investigator Track) scholar at Baylor College of Medicine. He will enter the Bioengineering and Biodesign Research Track under the mentorship of William Cohn, M.D., professor of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine and director of the Center for Device Innovation in Texas Medical Center. Dr. Kamat aims to design a medical device for use in the cardiovascular field. Dr. Kamat will spend his first year in new joint training program between the Department of Surgery and the TMC Innovation Institute Biodesign Fellowship, which brings together a multidisciplinary team (physicians, engineers, entrepreneurs) to drive healthcare innovations to market. Dr. Kamat’s appointment thus represents the true spirit of TMC collaboration, bringing together the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery and TMC Innovation. (add inset photo attached)
Jeffery Steimle, Ph.D., earned his B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. in Developmental Biology from the University of Chicago. Dr. Steimle will enter our T32 program’s Basic and Translational Research Track, under the mentorship of James Martin, M.D., Ph.D., professor and Vivian L. Smith Chair in Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Steimle will interrogate the role of transcription factor Pitx2 in left atrial and pulmonary vein myocardium, with the goal of elucidating gender-specific differences in susceptibility to atrial fibrillation. Dr. Steimle has extensive experience in cardiac gene regulatory networks and has spent nearly a decade developing the skills needed to study genetic influences on cardiac conduction. Training for Dr. Steimle will be a collaborative effort between the Department of Surgery and the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) to help him achieve his career goal of becoming an independent investigator in cardiovascular gene regulation.
