Training the next generation of cardiovascular researchers, clinicians

One of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute's most important mandates is to train the next generation of cardiovascular leaders. 

The Institute offers two streams: specialist training for physicians looking to work in the cardiac world, and graduate-level training for students looking for a career in science. It attracts individuals from around the world who are eager to train with the Libin’s world-class members.  

“One of the strengths of the program is the quality of the people,” says Dr. Satish Raj, MD, the Libin Institute’s director of education.

The Institute’s commitment to students reveals itself in the number of scholarships, awards, and opportunities available to trainees. Over the years, several students have received prestigious national awards including 13 Vanier and Banting scholarships. 

Kate Bourne, who is in the Cumming School of Medicine’s Leaders of Medicine program, received a Vanier Scholarship for her research on Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), an underrecognized autonomic system disorder that predominantly impacts young girls and women.  

“The Libin Institute has been key to my success as a trainee,” says Bourne. “Through expert mentorship, I have learned how to conduct clinical research, from initial protocol development through to dissemination of results and knowledge translation. These skills will be instrumental in my future career as a clinician-scientist.”

The Institute offers training to budding researchers and clinicians, with numerous clinical fellowship opportunities and graduate program offerings. But the Libin Cardiology Training Program is at the heart of the clinical training on offer at the Institute. 

Since it launched in 2004, 66 graduates—from every province in Canada and from as far as Australia, the Caribbean and Europe—have completed the Institute’s Cardiology Training Program. Thirty-two of those have set up practice in Alberta. Others have accepted positions in prestigious institutions such as Oxford and Harvard. 

Forty-five to 50 physicians apply for the four ministry funded positions in the program each year, and the program also accepts one international student every three years. Following completion of the program, about half of the trainees seek further subspecialty in areas like electrophysiology, cardiac imaging, and heart failure. 

Research is a priority of the program. All residents have research projects and present them at the Libin Cardiovascular Institute’s annual Tine Haworth Cardiovascular Research Day. Many have gone on to present at national and international meetings, and several have brought home awards. 

A unique aspect of the Cardiology Training Program is the Resident’s Research Development Fund. Trainees and their research mentors can apply $25,000 for their research proposal. Up to four research projects are funded annually. 

Dr. Katherine Kavanagh, the program’s long-term director, says there are currently 13 trainees in the program, which was set up to ensure both the long- and short-term success of trainees so that they can provide optimal care to the patients they serve.

“Each individual in our program has a research mentor, ECG mentor, and longitudinal clinic mentor, they all have faculty advisors, so they have many one-to-one relationships with our faculty,” says Kavanagh. “In addition to ensuring that our trainees are excellent clinicians when they graduate, we also emphasize the importance of research for without research we do not progress, and we are left to practice yesterday’s medicine.” 

Tine Haworth Research Day

Tine Haworth Cardiovascular Research Day contributes to the excellence of Libin’s training programs by offering students an opportunity to showcase their cardiovascular research. 

Hosted annually, Research Day is only possible through the generous support of Tine Haworth (1922 to 2019). A former teacher and businesswoman, Haworth donated more than $4 million to support the Libin Institute’s students before passing away at age 97.

The donation also funded an annual scholarship opportunity, the Tine Haworth Scholarship in Cardiovascular Research. 

LCITO

Students within the Institute are often eager to give back. The Libin Cardiovascular Institute Trainee Organization (LCITO) was launched in 2022. Made up of student volunteers, LCITO helps connect peers, increase learning opportunities and improve the overall experience for trainees affiliated with the Institute. 

“Ultimately, we want to create a legacy within the Libin Institute of students supporting students in reaching their academic and non-academic goals,” says Rytz, a PhD student behind the creation of the organization and its first president. “Through LCITO's continuous evolution, Libin trainees will be more prepared both during and beyond their degrees.” 

PhD student Jessica Wager, who recently took over presidency of LCITO, joined the organization to enhance educational and social events for Libin graduate students. 

“The main goals of the group are engagement and education. We work on these by hosting events catering to Libin students to acquire additional skills through workshops etc. to aid them in completion of their degree and prepare them for next steps,” says Wager.

“We also focus on social events to improve engagement and build a community of Libin trainees as engagement has been at an all-time low since the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Wager hopes LCITO will facilitate more leadership and learning opportunities for students.  

“We also hope to continue collaboration among other institutes,” she says. 

New opportunities for the future

When asked about the future of cardiovascular training at the Libin Cardiovascular Institute, Kavanagh says she expects the program to continue to grow and evolve. 

“We are going to see some new competencies introduced. There is no doubt that artificial intelligence is going to influence our cardiology training, as it will for all specialties,” she says.

Raj says he expects more cross collaboration with researchers in other institutes at the Cumming School of Medicine will provide trainees with more outside-the-box opportunities in the future. 

“You are forced to get exposed to the breath of research by interacting with others working in areas other than your own,” he says. “That’s where lots of the really interesting partnership and discoveries come about.”

Read more about the Libin Cardiovascular Institute's Top 20 Achievements of the last 20 years here.