Promoting Multidisciplinary Clinical and Translational Science in Aging by Resident Investigators
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PROJECT SUMMARY This renewal application for UCSF's National Institute on Aging-funded Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (StARR) program addresses the critical shortage of clinician scientists with the skills, experience, and commitment to advancing scientific understanding and improving the impact of aging on health. Our StARR program based in the UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Workforce Development Program is dedicated to recruiting and guiding promising resident investigators from diverse clinical backgrounds in obtaining rigorous clinical and translational science skills, conducting high-impact research projects, and launching successful careers in aging science. In its first cycle, our StARR program appointed 10 clinicians-in- training recruited from multiple residency programs at our institution in pursuing research on aging or older adult health. Eight of these StARR scholars have progressed to further academic training or research-related careers, with 4 already obtaining academic faculty positions incorporating aging-related research. With continued support, our StARR program will continue to draw upon UCSF's world-class resources for aging research and research career development: a large pool of distinguished faculty mentors in aging-related research fields; multiple outstanding aging research and research career development centers; and an established Resident Research Training Program based in the UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Workforce Development Program that offers short-term research training and funding opportunities to residents to create a pipeline for the more in-depth experience offered by StARR. We will continue to offer an intensive, 12-month StARR program with distinct tracks for residents who already have substantial formal training in research methods versus those seeking to obtaining initial rigorous research training through StARR. Rather than focusing on trainees from just a few clinical backgrounds, our program will continue to invite applicants from a broader range of clinical fields important to aging—not only departments with a tradition of aging or geriatrics-focused training or research (e.g., medicine, psychiatry), but also those with the potential to bring important new perspectives or introduce aging science concepts into their own fields (e.g., gynecology, anesthesiology). For this renewal, we have also developed an important new collaboration with UCSF's School of Dentistry, a world leader in oral and dental science and clinical care, to pave the way for future promising dental resident investigators to develop research careers in this critically understudied aspect of aging health. In our next cycle, we will continue to guide promising residents from all partnering departments in obtaining advanced methodological, analytic, and collaborative skills; establishing and sustaining relationships with accomplished research mentors; and competing for research funding that will enable these trainees to develop long-term, productive careers across the full spectrum of clinical and translational aging science.
