STaRS Shine during 10-Week Program

The Summer Training as Research Scholars (STaRS) Program concluded its 10-week experience with an oral presentation symposium held August 9–11. The scholars also participated in the GMS summer research poster symposium on August 11.

Overseen by Graduate Medical Sciences, the STaRS Program is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. It has trained over 180 scholars and received more than 3,500 applications since its inception.

In the STaRS program, scholars realize independent cutting-edge biomedical research projects under the guidance of their research mentors—faculty, students, postdoctoral associates, fellows, and residents.

Scholars also present their research, significantly increase their network, build powerful and lasting relationships, and attend career development seminars aimed at preparing them for school applications and research paths.

After an opening welcome from Isabel Dominguez, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and director of the STaRS Program, the symposium began by acknowl- edging the faculty mentors, professionals, student mentors and panelists, and administrators who contributed to the success of the program. This included the STaRS mentors—Carolyn Wilson (MD student), Hunter Kelley (MAMS student), and Felix Litvak (MD student)—who advised and helped scholars before, after, and during the program.

The scholars showcased their oral presentations and posters, and discussed their work on a variety of topics, including inflammatory biomarkers, mouse lung fibroblasts, aortic disease, lung cancer, podocyte injury, cerebral microbleeds, connective tissue diseases, prostate cancer, animal model behavior, extracellular matrix in kidney disease, amyloidosis, mitochondrial disfunction, ECM extraction methods, fibroblast differentiation, arteriovenous access, enterotoxigenic bacteria, and sleep apnea. They received certificates to mark the completion of the program.

This year’s class included 16 undergraduates from across the country and one current Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine student. The 2022 scholars were Arjun Kumar Batra, Yariann Del Mar Camacho Rosario, Carlos Noel Centeno

“I had no radiology experience, and this [VH Dissector] made it click for me when I first saw an MRI,” says teaching assistant and second-year anatomy & neurobiology graduate student Tyler Capen. “An MRI is a lot of black and white, but if you know what the structures look like, what shapes they are, and where they’re supposed to be, you can correlate that.”

Second-year medical student Nimish Saxena found the technology helped inject excitement into the daily routine of lectures and rote memorization, and employing technology that resembles what they will use as clinicians made the anatomy courses more relevant to students.

“It’s really good for melding that clinical relevance with the coursework we’re studying,” says Saxena. ●

Velez, Coralys Ivette Cuevas Hornedo, Sophia Karise Ellis, Eli River Engledow, Nusrat Islam, Alexis Kidiani Kiyanda, Christine Le, Zoe Nicole Matacchiera, Alejandra Sofia Medina, Nubaira Zaheen Milki, Karlianie Rivera Rodriguez, Muriel Louise Ruppert, Eduardo David Salazar, Emily Katherine Stein, and Carolyn Wilson. Faculty mentors included Esther Bullit, PhD; Isabel Dominguez, PhD; Hui Feng, MD, PhD; Chris Heaphy, PhD; Matt Layne, PhD; Jessica Levi, MD; Weining Lu, MD; Sarah Mazilli, PhD; Joseph P. Mizgerd, ScD; Gareth Morgan, PhD; Rafael Romero, MD; JeanPierre Roussarie, PhD; Karin Schon, PhD; Francesca Seta, PhD; Manveen K. Sethi, PhD; Joseph Zaia, PhD; and Jeffrey Siracuse, MD.

The summer poster symposium also hosted three summer Undergraduate Research Opportunities students: Sanjana Prudhvi, Lydia Bischoff, and Eric Ibarra.

“It is rewarding to watch the STaRS enhance their communication and research competencies, and to take on leadership roles in the program,” says Dominguez.

“I am very impressed with the scholars’ research accomplishments under the guidance of our faculty and team mentors. It is very gratifying to see the scholars empowered to follow their path to graduate school and to be future researchers.” ●