# The Penn-StARR Program for Research in Residency

> **NIH NIH R38** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2020 · $349,368

## Abstract

Summary
To address the widely recognized decline in the physician-scientist workforce, new approaches are needed to
recruit talented physicians to pursue research as an integral part of their medical training and their future
careers. The Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (StARR) initiative will provide a new point of access
to research by accelerating the entry of residents into meaningful research pursuits during residency. This bold
initiative will engender, and require, a substantial change in graduate medical education. Here we propose the
University of Pennsylvania (Penn)-StARR program, which will tap into a talented and highly motivated pool of
diverse residents in Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Pathology, and Pediatrics. The Penn-StARR program
will provide opportunities for these residents to pursue mentored research on topics within the mission of the
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The program will take advantage of a thriving and
interactive physician-scientist community that has benefitted from a strong institutional commitment to training,
recruitment, and advancement of physician-scientists, particularly those from groups underrepresented in the
biomedical sciences. Penn-StaRR will become an anchor for a larger institutional effort to support physician-
scientist development and careers. The Penn-StARR program will uniquely provide access to research in
residency for 3 residents per year to pursue 12 months of focused research integrated with clinical training and
starting as early as possible while maintaining the clinical training required for specialty board certification. The
unique features of the Penn-StARR program are: the outstanding, diverse, and motivated resident pool; an
existing demand from residents for training for research careers; strong institutional support for physician-
scientist training that is evident in the infrastructure, programs, and momentum for physician-scientist training
already in place; institutional commitment to support a slot beyond those funded through NHLBI; an
outstanding faculty representing diverse areas of research relevant to NHLBI; and a fully integrated campus
with an exceptionally interactive research environment across departments and institutions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9962486
- **Project number:** 5R38HL143613-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** PETER S KLEIN
- **Activity code:** R38 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $349,368
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-01 → 2021-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9962486

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9962486, The Penn-StARR Program for Research in Residency (5R38HL143613-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9962486. Licensed CC0.

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