The NIH grant involves creation of a Linked Clinical Research Center (LCRC) between the University of Southern California (USC) and Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute (MAHI) in Kansas City. This unit will be part of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Network (CTSN) and will increase the capacity of the CTSN to not only conduct clinical trials, but also educate the next generation of physician-scientists. Each 7-year, 5 million dollar NIH grant was awarded to five LCRC's in the US. The PI at USC is Dr. Michael Bowdish and the PI at MAHI is Dr. Keith B. Allen.