PROJECT SUMMARY
The goal of this Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (StARR) program is to recruit, train, and mentor
a select group of exceptional postgraduate resident investigators from diverse clinical departments in acquiring
rigorous clinical and translational research skills, conducting high-impact research projects relevant to aging,
and launching promising careers in clinical or translational aging science. This initiative will build on a large and
diverse faculty with expertise in aging research, a strong institutional track record in multidisciplinary
postgraduate research training, and an existing, successful Resident Research Training Program developed by
the UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute that has previously guided over a thousand residents in
completing short-term clinical or translational research projects over the past decade.
Our program will emphasize clinical and translational research, defined broadly to include early translational
science, clinical and epidemiologic investigations, population-based science, and dissemination research to
translate scientific findings into real-world settings. We have designed an intensive, 12-month, contiguous
StARR program that emphasizes rigorous training in clinical and translational research methods, recognizing
that many clinician scholars seeking to pursue clinical or translational research lack formal methodologic
training. For the initial stages of this program, we have worked closely with department and residency leaders
in internal medicine, neurology, psychiatry, anesthesia, general surgery, urology, orthopaedic surgery, and
gynecology to develop a detailed plan for recruiting and selecting the most promising resident investigators
from these fields, enhancing their research training and career development opportunities, cultivating their
relationships with experienced faculty mentors in aging research, and guiding them in obtaining future
competitive research funding, while simultaneously fulfilling necessary board credentialing requirements.
Our aims are to: 1) recruit and train 3 clinical residents annually with the potential and commitment to become
successful clinical and translational researchers in aging; 2) guide these resident investigators in obtaining
more advanced methodological, analytic, and collaborative skills appropriate for their level of training; 3) create
and support effective, influential, and long-lasting relationships with accomplished aging research mentors
during and after residency; and 4) guide scholars in successfully competing for other forms of research support
that will pave the way for them to pursue long-term careers in clinical or translational aging science.