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Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR)



Students enrolled in the MSTAR program benefit from an enriching experience in aging-related research and geriatrics with the mentorship of top experts in the field.

Participation in the program has led many physicians-in-training to pursue academic careers in aging, ranging from basic science to clinical and health sciences research. The long-term goal of the program is to increase the number of established physician investigators and clinicians who pursue research in high-priority areas related to aging.

This 8-week, multi-site program is open to first-year medical students interested in aging research and in good academic standing.  Sites included in the program are:

Application Information

Program Information

Stipend: $4,704 total for 8 weeks ($2,352/month)

Project PI: Elena Volpi, MD, PhD, FGSA

Requirements

Candidates: 1st-year medical students interested in aging research

Duration: Intensive 8 weeks over Summer and following Winter breaks

Application Deadline: February 21, 2025 at 5pm CST

Trainees gain:

  • an individualized research experience under a sponsoring mentor
  • a structured didactic experience that is directly linked to student research projects
  • opportunities to interact with potential role models and peers efforts to build a sense of identity and membership for participants
  • a positive and rewarding experience in aging research
  • a chance to obtain research credits for their participation

Expectations: During the summer and winter experience, trainees are expected to spend the majority of their time at UT Health San Antonio on their research project, attend weekly meetings, where didactic applications and career issues are discussed, and attend local geriatrics seminars. They also attend kickoff and capstone group sessions.

  • Faculty Mentors
    Lizhen Chen, PhD
    Associate Professor
    Research Interest: Neuronal aging, neurodegeneration, nerve repair, cancer progression    		Robert Clark, MD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Inflammation, Parkinson’s disease, translational science
    Tiffany Cortes, MD
    Assistant Professor
    Research Interest: Diabetes, Obesity, Frailty    		Gabriel de Erausquin, MD, PhD, MSc
    Professor
    Research Interest: Brain Development, Modulation and Repair
    Ralph A. DeFronzo, MD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Diabetes, Metabolism, Nephrology    		David Gius, MD, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Mitochondria’s role in aging and cancer
    Xianlin Han,PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Alzheimer’s disease, lipid metabolism, aging    		Reuben S. Harris, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Mechanisms of mutation in immunity, ageing, and cancer
    Tim Huang, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Cancer epigenetics    		Yuji Ikeno, MD, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Oxidative stress, cancer, metabolic disorders, aging
    Dean Kellogg, Jr, MD, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Translation of age-modulating agents, cardiovascular physiology    		Lisa Smith Kilpela, PhD
    Assistant Professor
    Research Interest: Nutrition pathology, health disparities in aging, mental health
    Kevin Koronowski, PhD
    Assistant Professor
    Research Interest: Circadian rhythms, metabolic disease, aging    		Masahiro Morita, PhD
    Associate Professor
    Research Interest: Metabolic syndrome, cancer metabolism
    Madesh Muniswamy, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Mitochondria, ion channels, cardiovascular, sepsis, metabolic syndrome    		James Nelson, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Sex Differences in Aging, Geroprotective interventions, Calorie restriction
    Luke Norton, PhD
    Associate Professor
    Research Interest: Liver and adipose tissue function in type 2 diabetes    		Juan Pablo Palavicini, PhD
    Assistant Professor
    Research Interest: Alzheimer’s disease, biology of aging, lipid metabolism, diabetes
    Shreya Rao, MD, MPH
    Assistant Professor
    Research Interest: Cardiovascular aging and health disparities    		Blake Rasmussen, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Biology of aging, sarcopenia, exercise interventions
    Marcos Restrepo, MD, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Pneumonia in older adults, Immune Mechanisms of COVID    		Kelly Reveles, PharmD, PhD
    Associate Professor
    Research Interest: Microbiome, frailty, infectious diseases
    Corinna Ross, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Translational geroscience, nonhuman primate modeling    		Adam Salmon, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Biology of aging, metabolism, gerotherapeutic interventions
    Sandra Sanchez-Reilly, MD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Geriatric Pain; palliative Care; end of life    		Claudia Satizabal, PhD
    Associate Professor
    Research Interest: Health disparities in Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease
    Sudha Seshadri, MD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Brain Aging, Stroke, Dementia, Alzheimer’s and related diseases, Vascular cognitive impairment    		Yuguang (Roger) Shi, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Mitochondrial dysfunction in age-related diseases
    Randy Strong, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Pharmacology of Aging/Parkinson disease    		Patrick Sung, DPhil
    Professor
    Research Interest: DNA repair, R-loop biology
    Elena Volpi, MD, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Sarcopenia, functional recovery, diabetes    		Lu Wang, PhD
    Assistant Professor
    Research Interest: Epigenetics, aging, metabolic disorder, cancer
    Rebeca Wong, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Aging and health disparities    		Mengwei Zang, MD, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Aging, chronic liver disease, and Diabetes
    Shangang Zhao, PhD
    Assistant Professor
    Research Interest: Metabolism, diabetes, aging    		Lei Zheng, MD, PhD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Pancreatic cancer biology, translational immunology, cancer immunotherapy and the tumor microenvironment
    Daohong Zhou, MD
    Professor
    Research Interest: Discovering and developing novel drugs against senescence and cancer

  • Cross-institutional Aging Related Seminars

    InstitutionSeminarFrequencyDayHour
    UTHSABarshop Institute, Shock Center, Pepper OAIC Weekly SeminarWeeklyWednesday4-5 PM
    UTHSAMasoro Barshop Conference on Aging (Bandera, TX)Annual (Oct. 9-12)Thurs.-Sat.All Day
    UTHSABarshop Clinical Research MeetingWeeklyTuesday2-3 PM
    UTHSANeuroscience Grand RoundsWeeklyFriday8-9 AM
    UTHSABiggs Clinical Neuropathology Case ConferenceMonthlyWednesday4-5 PM
    UTHSAGeriatrics and Palliative Care Grand Rounds (virtual)

    Join ZoomGov Meeting
    Meeting ID: 160 497 4017
    Passcode: idhR2Z?EF5    		Monthly4th Thursday12-1 PM
    UTHSAGeriatrics Fellow Didactics (in person)WeeklyThursday1-4 PM
    UTHSAUpdates in Geriatrics (hybrid)One timeThursday May 2912-5 PM
    UTHSAGeriatrics Complex Cases (virtual)MonthlyWednesday12-1 PM
    UTHSAPalliative Daily Conference (hybrid)DailyMon-Thur.12-1 PM
    UTHHuffington Lecture Series (Geriatrics Grand Rounds)MonthlyFriday08:00 AM
    UTHGeriatric and Palliative Medicine Webinar SeriesWeeklyWednesday12:00 PM
    UTHGeriatrics Journal ClubMonthlyWednesday01:00 PM
    UTHInternal Medicine Grand RoundsWeeklyThursday12:00 PM
    UTHTX Consortium of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Journal ClubMonthlyFriday12:00 PM
    UTHElder Mistreatment and Social Isolation Work in ProgressBiweeklyWed03:00 PM
    UTHPatient Priorities Care Research MeetingsBiweeklyThursday03:00 PM
    UTHManagement, Policy and Community Health Grand RoundsBimonthlyFriday09:30 AM
    UTMBSCOA, Pepper Investigators Meeting
    Join the meeting now
    Meeting ID: 224 954 890 637
    Passcode: UM2FC2Xe    		Monthly4th Wednesday12:00 PM
    UTMBGeriatric Division Grand Rounds
    Click here to join the meeting    		WeeklyWednesday12:00 PM
    UTMBNeurodysfunction and Neurodegeneration SeminarWeeklyTuesday12:00 PM
    UTMBRehabilitation Research SeminarMonthlyThursday12:00 PM
    UTMBNeurobiology SeminarWeeklyThursday01:30 PM
    UTMBBiochemistry and Molecular Biology Seminar

    https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1604927999?pwd=WxSmhAwuaSm2nrk9eaAzvNC7GsGUdP.1
    Meeting ID: 160 492 7999
    Passcode: 040671    		WeeklyThursday04:00 PM
    UTSWGeriatrics grand rounds (September-May)WeeklyWednesday08:00 AM
    UTSWGeriatrics Journal ClubBimonthlyThursday08:00 AM
    UTSWCardiometabolic Seminar Series (April, June/July)QuarterlyFriday12:00 PM
    UTSWCardiometabolic and aging research meetingMonthly4th Tuesday12:00 PM
    UTSWCardiology Research Conference (September-May)WeeklyMonday12:00 PM
    UTSWInternal Medicine Research MeetingMonthlyTuesday02:00 PM

  • Group Didactic Meetings

    Session one, 6/4, 1-4 PMSession two, 6/13, 1-4:30 PMSession three, 6/18, 1-4 PM
    Intro to Biology and Physiology of Aging
    (1 hour)
    Adam Salmon UTHSA

    Download Slides    		Basics of Aging Research Methodology
    (1 hour)
    • Basic science, observational,
    and experimental designs
    • Important resources in aging research
    (databases, repositories, networks)
    Rafael Samper-Ternent UTHH

    Download Slides    		Preparing your Work for Presentation
    (1 hour)
    • Writing an abstract
    • Preparing a poster
    • Approaching a manuscript
    Jim Goodwin & Amber McIlwain UTMB

    Download Slides
    Basic Ethical Considerations in Aging Research (1 hour)
    • Informed consent
    • Privacy and confidentiality
    • Vulnerable populations
    Min Ji Kwak UTHH

    Download Slides    		Data Collection and Basic Analytics
    (1.5 hour)
    • Quantitative research variables
    • Intro to statistical methods including
    descriptive statistics, inferential statistics,
    and surveys
    • Qualitative and mixed-methods
    • Basics of data management including
    statistical software
    Alejandro Villasante & David Samuel UTMB    		Introduction to Scholarship (1 hour)
    • Types of scholarship
    • Working with a statistician
    • Working with a librarian including
    reference management
    • Ethics of authorship
    Ambarish Pandey UTSW
    Basics of Aging Research Design (1 hour)
    • Aging research priorities
    • Research pipeline
    • Primary vs Secondary Research
    • Importance of Interdisciplinary collaboration
    Elena Volpi UTHSA
    Erin Hommel UTMB

    Download Slides    		Paths to a Career in Aging
    (1 hour)
    • Clinical pathways (geriatrician vs non-geriatrician)
    • Becoming a physician scientist
    • Training grants and other funding mechanisms
    • Opportunities for multi-disciplinary collaboration
    Ramona Rhodes UTSW    		Ethical Case Studies in Aging Research (1 hour)
    • Small group discussion on case studies
    regarding the responsible conduct of research
    Mary Kollmer Horton UTHH

    Download Slides
    Join ZoomGov Meeting

    Meeting ID: 161 204 1094
    Passcode: x#iVJADe6G    		Join ZoomGov Meeting

    Meeting ID: 161 113 1384
    Passcode: Lf^yJkU20#    		Join ZoomGov Meeting

    Meeting ID: 160 987 0852
    Passcode: Vd%Var2pdj