StARR Program in Cross-Disciplinary Oncology Clinician-Scientist Training

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The over-arching goal of the Washington University (WU) StARR Program in Cross-Disciplinary Oncology Clinician Scientist Training is to IDENTIFY, RECRUIT, TRAIN, RETAIN, and ADVANCE outstanding physicians in oncology-focused graduate medical education (GME) training (i.e. “residency”) for careers as clinician- investigators. We have proposed training clinician resident-investigators from diverse, oncology-focused disciplines and residency training programs. Long-term objectives: The WU NCI R38 StARR program will successfully identify, recruit, and train oncology- focused clinicians with an interest in becoming clinician-scientists during their residency training. These trainees would then be eligible for subsequent career-development awards, including the companion K38 mechanism. Our program plan includes continued long-term follow-up and engagement of R38 trainees to retain and advance their careers as physician-scientists. Key Elements of Training: An emphasis of our proposal includes multiple levels of career development, including co-mentoring by at least two mentors in different departments to encourage cross-disciplinary training and collaboration. Each resident-investigator will also have a mentoring committee and report regularly to the PI and Advisory Committee. A structured curriculum with specific competencies and milestones will be established to best train individual resident-investigators in programs and research programs that are ideally matched with their skills, interests, and career development. We have received broad support from all levels of research and education at WU, including the Dean’s Office and the participating Departments and Programs. Research Projects: The WU NCI R38 StARR program will support up to four resident-investigators per year from the participating departments. Each resident-investigator will engage in 1-2 years of dedicated, protected research time, free from all clinical responsibilities. They will craft a research plan commensurate with their interests and prior experiences that may involve further training, coursework, workshops, and career development. Specific metrics and plans for follow-up, evaluation, and long-term mentoring and career development are included in our proposal. The WU StARR Program in Cross-Disciplinary Oncology Clinician Scientist Training will leverage the significant institutional, departmental, and programmatic resources at our University to meet the stated goal of the StARR program to recruit and retain outstanding health professionals to foster their careers as clinician-investigators.