# Vanderbilt Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (V-StARR)

> **NIH NIH R38** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · $322,010

## Abstract

Summary
The goal of this application is to establish at Vanderbilt a mentored training program (V-StARR) for residents in
Medicine or Pediatrics possessing both the aptitude and passion to become a new generation of basic, clinical
and translational clinician-scientists. We will particularly focus on “late bloomers”; i.e. those residents who
decide to pursue a career as a clinician-scientist after acceptance to a standard clinical residency pathway.
The overarching goal is to provide a nurturing mentored environment for Resident Investigators for 1-2 years of
highly rigorous research training to facilitate successful transition to a research-focused fellowship and
subsequent appointment as tenure track faculty with the ultimate goal of achieving independence as clinician-
scientists. This new program will offer mentored training integrating with the proven and highly successful
institutional clinician-scientist training programs at Vanderbilt. Each Resident Investigator will participate in
workshops, courses, and our societies for clinician-scientist development and will develop and complete a
mentored research project in an area of focus consistent with the missions of NHLBI. Investigation may be
basic, translational, clinical or in the area of population health. The V-StARR training program will have five
training slots at any given time to support Resident Investigators for a minimum of 80% protected research
time for 1-2 years. Three of these slots will be funded by the R38 award and one slot each will be funded by
the Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics. There will be a formal program selection process to identify the
most competitive applicants. Due to Vanderbilt's outstanding reputation for training clinician-scientists, and the
characteristics of the applicant pool to our residencies, we anticipate a strong cadre of applicants. The program
will provide intense scientific mentorship and personalized career development. The Resident Investigators will
have access to a cadre of 36 carefully selected preceptors with sustained NIH funding coupled with successful
track records of mentoring early career scholars. Each Resident Investigator will have a personalized Scholarly
Oversight Committee to assist in achieving program goals, to provide independent evaluation of their progress,
and to develop, advise on, and track their career development plan. Assessment of Resident Investigators will
include competency-based milestone assessments with equally rigorous program assessments. A core goal of
the V-StARR program will be to promote diversity and inclusion in a highly intentional way. The Departments of
Medicine and Pediatrics are fully integrated into the Vanderbilt School of Medicine and Medical Center, which
ranks in the top 10 in NIH funding. All departments, hospitals, research laboratories and core facilities reside
on a single campus offering an integrated research environment for early career clinician-scientists. The V-
StARR program ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10201735
- **Project number:** 5R38HL143619-04
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** STEVEN A. WEBBER
- **Activity code:** R38 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $322,010
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10201735

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10201735, Vanderbilt Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (V-StARR) (5R38HL143619-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10201735. Licensed CC0.

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