Skip to main content
Indiana University School of Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
Research

Training Program

Goals of the Indiana Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (I-StARR) program 

Our goal is to provide high quality research skills training to place residents on a structured pathway toward research careers as physician-scientists. We will accomplish this by:

  • Matching scholars with extramurally funded research preceptors for hands-on mentored research experiences for a minimum of 12 months at 80% effort
  • Creating a tailored research skill training plan for scholars that combines existing didactics in research methods (eg, coursework) with StARR-specific new opportunities (eg, I-StARR Seminar Series) 
  • Providing career mentoring using evidence-based tools, such as the Individual Development Plan 
  • Supporting grant development through grant writing coaching, pre-award training and pre-submission grant review

Training Tracks

I-StARR provides cardiovascular and pulmonary research training in three training tracks: 

  • Clinical and translational research
  • Health services research
  • Community-engaged research

Program Training Components

At the heart of I-StARR training is the mentored research experience with extramurally funded mentors. Scholars will meet weekly with their mentors during research blocks. During clinical rotations, scholars will meet their mentors monthly to ensure continuity.   

 Another important part of the I-StARR training is the monthly I-StARR Seminar Series. The seminar series builds community among our scholars, mentors and PIs, and gives scholars an opportunity to present topics of interest to the group. The curriculum includes methodological topics (eg, study designs, survival analysis) and professional development topics (eg, creating an NIH bio sketch) led by either PIs, mentors or other invited faculty. The format of the two-hour seminar session allows for informal networking and peer mentoring in a casual environment.

The monthly schedule alternates between faculty-led sessions and scholar-led sessions. Scholars are encouraged to introduce their mentors to the seminar series and to jointly host sessions with them on their research projects. Scholars are expected to attend monthly sessions during their research blocks; they are strongly encouraged to participate during their clinical rotations as time permits. Participation in monthly seminars allows scholars on clinical rotations to remain connected with their peers and PIs, supporting the development of their research identities and creating a sense of belonging.

Scholars elect opportunities for professional development during research blocks tailored to their specific training track and career goals. PIs support scholars in the selection of activities; PI approval is required for non-degree coursework (subject to available funding).

Graduate Certificate/Master of Science Clinical Research
Scholars without evidence of formal research coursework are encouraged but not required to enroll as non-degree seeking students in clinical research courses found in Indiana CTSI’s Clinical Investigation and Translation Education (CITE) program. Scholars may select one 3-credit course per semester.

Innovation and Implementation Science (IIS) Graduated Certificate Program
Scholars in the Health Services Research track will benefit from enrolling as non-degree seeking students in IIS courses (one per semester) offered by Indiana University Center for Health Innovation and Implementation Science (CHIIS).

Institutional Research Seminars
Scholars will have access to several existing research seminars at IU School of Medicine that are open to postdoctoral fellows and faculty with a focus on the professional development of early-career investigators. 

Science Communication
Scholars will be supported in learning how to write manuscripts as well as deliver scientific presentations. Scholars will be required to enroll in the Foundation for Advanced Education in Sciences (FAES) Writing and Publishing a Scientific Paper course and are encouraged to participate in the Communicating Science program by Faculty Affairs and Professional Development. 

Grant Development
Scholars will be required to pursue grant development training newly developed for I-StARR, including a mock study section review. Scholars will learn how to use various institutional resources available to them in support of grant writing and submission.

The final curriculum component emphasis career mentoring across several levels.

Self-Mentoring
Scholars are expected to be their own best mentors and engage in periods of self-reflection to determine professional priorities and goals. 

Senior Mentoring
Scholars and PIs meet monthly during research blocks and at least quarterly during clinical rotations. 

Scientific Mentoring Team
The senior mentor (research preceptor) and at least two scientific mentors form the scientific mentoring team and will meet with RIs quarterly. 

Peer Mentoring
Scholars engage with I-StARR peers during monthly seminar series and other development opportunities. 

Staff Mentoring
Scholars meet with non-faculty university employees with expertise in grant writing, manuscripts, research development, statistical analysis and data management as needed.  

Each scholar will build a block-specific curriculum tailored to their career goals with support of the PIs, mentors, and the I-StARR program administrator prior to the start of each block. PIs must approve the curriculum.

Duration

The I-StARR curriculum will be tailored to each scholar’s prior research experience and is designed to integrate intensive research experiences and career development with required clinical training throughout residency. Participation in I-StARR will add a minimum of one year to the scholar’s residency training. Scholars are eligible to apply for an extension of their research training up to 24 months, subject to satisfactory progress, availability of funding and approval by the program directors.

Residents in family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics will complete the program in 4-5 years. Residents in internal medicine-pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology will complete the program in 5-6 years.

To accommodate continuity of care schedules and ensure scholars comply with board certification requirements, I-StARR offers intensive 3-month research blocks starting in post-graduate year (PGY) 2. Blocks can be combined and carried over from one PGY to the next, for a contiguous research experience of 6 or even 9 months. Research blocks allow flexibility for residency programs and scholars to be productive in research without compromising clinical training. 

Schedule Examples

The first example shows two different sample schedules for a minimum of 12 months of research.

Table 1. Example for family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics (36 months of required clinical training plus 12-24 months research training). OB/GYN and med-peds schedules require 12 additional months of clinical training (not included). 
Ex. 1 July-Sept. Oct.-Dec. Jan.-March April-June
PGY 1 Clinical Rotation Clinical Rotation Clinical Rotation Clinical Rotation
PGY 2 Clinical Rotation Clinical Rotation and Research Block prep Research Block 1 and 20% clinical continuity of care Clinical Rotation and monthly research meetings
PGY 3 Clinical Rotation and monthly research meetings Clinical Rotation and monthly research meetings Clinical Rotation and monthly research meetings Research Block 2 and 20% clinical continuity of care
PGY 4 Research Block 3 and 20% clinical continuity of care Research Block 4 and 20% clinical continuity of care
 Clinical Rotation and monthly research meetings
 Clinical Rotation and monthly research meetings

 

The second example shows each schedule allowing for contiguous research periods.

Ex. 2 July-Sept. Oct.-Dec. Jan.-March April-June
PGY 1 Clinical Rotation Clinical Rotation Clinical Rotation Clinical Rotation
PGY 2 Clinical Rotation and Research Block prep Research Block 1 and 20% clinical continuity of care Clinical Rotation and monthly research meetings Research Block 2 and 20% clinical continuity of care
PGY 3 Clinical Rotation and monthly research meetings Clinical Rotation and monthly research meetings Research Block 3 and 20% clinical continuity of care Research Block 4 and 20% clinical continuity of care
PGY 4 Clinical Rotation and monthly research meetings Clinical Rotation and monthly research meetings Research Block 5 and 20% clinical continuity of care Research Block 6 and 20% clinical continuity of care
PGY 5 Research Block 7 and 20% clinical continuity of care Research Block 8 and 20% clinical continuity of care   Clinical Rotation and monthly research meetings
Clinical Rotation and monthly research meetings