The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Emory University and Georgia Tech has launched its newest program to train the next generation of cardiovascular leaders.

The Cardiovascular Biomechanics Graduate Training Program at Emory and Georgia Tech (CBT@EmTech) prepares predoctoral students in biomedical engineering and bioengineering for careers in the cardiovascular field through a range of disciplines including cardiovascular biomechanics, mechanobiology, medical imaging, computational modeling, medical devices, therapeutics discovery and delivery, and data science.

The two-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded grant will support six graduate students per year for the next five years. Additional funding from Georgia Tech and Emory will cover two more graduate students each year, for a total of eight students. The program will admit its first cohort of students in fall 2023.

“The Program is built on a long history of ground-breaking research applying biomechanics and mechanobiology to the field of cardiovascular disease across Emory and Georgia Tech,” said Dr. Hanjoong Jo, Wallace H. Coulter Distinguished Chair Professor in Biomedical Engineering and program director for CBTa2EmTech.

Jo says trainees will do three lab rotations in the first year, with at least one in biomedical sciences (mechanobiology, therapeutics, regeneration) and the other in engineering/data science (biomechanics, imaging & modelling, devices, data sciences).

Students will then select a mentor and co-mentor from medicine/biology, engineering/data science, biology/engineering/data science and medicine.

In addition to required coursework, students will receive professional development training.

Principal investigators for CBT@EmTech include Jo, John Oshinski, Prasad Lakshmi Dasi, and Wallace H. Coulter Department of Engineering Chair Alyssa Panitch.

More information about CBT@EmTech can be found at the program’s website.