# Duke Resident Physician-Scientist Program- NHLBI

> **NIH NIH R38** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $339,431

## Abstract

The physician-scientist workforce has been an important driver for many of the substantial discoveries in
medicine and health-care over the last two decades. Yet, the pipeline of clinician-scientist trainees has been in
decline, fueled by complexity and requirements of clinical training, mounting debt after medical school,
declining NIH paylines, and importantly, lack of access to research mentorship during clinical training. After
four or more years of residency training with little time or support for research endeavors, there are many
hurdles for research-oriented trainees to initiate or re-initiate research. This represents a major gap in the
development of physician-scientists prepared to translate research into the clinical arena during their careers.
The primary goal of the multidisciplinary Duke Scientist-Clinician-Investigator Stimulating access to Research
during Residency (Duke SCI-StARR) program is to train physician-scientists in all aspects of biomedical
research in order to cultivate investigators who will lead the development, implementation, and evaluation of
new clinical modalities to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease states affecting the heart, lungs, and blood.
Duke SCI-StARR will train residents across 3 departments: Pediatrics, Medicine, and Surgery in areas along
the full biomedical research continuum (basic/translational, early phase clinical trials and
pharmacokinetics, and late phase clinical trials and outcomes) with a theme of improving health over the
life course. The program will consist of four training aims: 1) comprehensive didactics covering basic,
translational, and clinical research and professional development; 2) development and completion of a
research project and an individualized career development plan; 3) establishment of a track record of scholarly
activity; and 4) eligibility for board certification and continuation to subspecialty training. Duke SCI-StARR will
be led by an Executive Committee (EC) of MPIs Sallie Permar, MD, PhD (Pediatrics), Scott Palmer, MD, MHS
(Medicine), and David Harpole, Jr, MD (Surgery), and a SCI-StARR Associate Program Director from each
department, along with an Expanded EC of Residency Program Directors and Program Coordinators,
capitalizing on a team of 23 multi-departmental, multi-disciplinary, well-funded, and experienced faculty
preceptors. This application requests support for three Resident-Investigators each year with each trainee to
be supported for 18-24 months of research. Upon completion of the program, these individuals will be capable
of transitioning to research-intense fellowship training, successfully competing for extramural funding to
support a path to independence as physician-scientists, and becoming the next generation of physicians
leading and mentoring trainees in clinically-oriented research of disease states affecting the heart, lungs, and
blood. Acheivement of the program's objectives will fulfill urgent medical needs for: 1) more full-time acad...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10202710
- **Project number:** 5R38HL143612-04
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Mai ElMallah
- **Activity code:** R38 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $339,431
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10202710

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10202710, Duke Resident Physician-Scientist Program- NHLBI (5R38HL143612-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10202710. Licensed CC0.

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