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  • StARR Program Mentors

StARR Program Mentorship


 

The StARR program is designed to provide resident-investigators with a comprehensive, integrative, and formal career development experience with the goal of positioning them to become the next generation of leaders in academic medicine.

This career development training is achieved through pairing our resident-investigators with outstanding, dedicated mentors with extensive disease-specific research expertise and a wide array of cutting-edge approaches to research, and providing appropriate oversight of the mentor-mentee relationship.  

Mentored Research Project

Once the mentor and research project has been approved by the Internal Advisory Committee, the StARR scholar will initiate the research. It is expected that the mentor will meet 1:1 with the StARR scholar at least weekly. Less experienced residents may require additional research skill development prior to initiation of their research project. 

Resident-investigator and their mentors will also participate in the Emerging Mentorship Program organized by the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI). Evidence-based strategies are used to teach mentor/mentee pairs  the skills they  need to get the most out  of their mentoring relationships.

Mentorship Committee

All StARR scholars are required to establish a Mentorship Committee, approved by the Internal Advisory Committee, at the outset of their research training. The StARR scholar will select 3-4 faculty to join their Mentorship Committee, which will meet four times a year. These faculty are in addition to the research mentor(s), are chosen by the StARR scholar, and should serve to provide unbiased support for the StARR scholar’s research, as well as appraisal of its progress.


Program Mentors by Specialty

  
Larry AllenLarry Allen, MD, MHS, Professor of Medicine: Dr. Allen’s research is focused improving our ability to anticipate progression into end-stage heart failure and then helping patients make tough choices regarding invasive therapies and palliative care options.
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile
Peter ButtrickPeter Buttrick, MD, Professor and Head, Division of Cardiology: Dr. Buttrick’s laboratory has a long history studying cardiac myocyte biochemistry and mechanics in both animal models of heart disease and in humans, with studies conducted at the single cell and myofibril level as well as at the level of the whole heart. A major focus has been correlating both changes in gene expression and in post-translational sarcomere protein modifications with mechanical measurements with the thought that this approach can identify putative therapeutic targets.
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile
Kathryn ChatfieldKathryn Chatfield, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics:  Dr. Chatfield’s research interests include mitochondrial dysfunction in pediatric heart failure patients and with a specific focus on the role that cardiolipin, an inner mitochondrial membrane protein, plays in both genetic and acquired heart disease in children.  She also has experience in clinical genetics and has identified etiologic genetic targets that contribute to cardiomyopathies.  She is currently supported by a K award and we would project that she would serve as a co-mentor with a more senior physician-scientist. 
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile
Dana DabeleaDana Dabelea, MD, PhD, Professor of Public Health:  For nearly 20 years, Dr. Dabelea has focused on the rising rate of type 2 diabetes in youth, and is the author of one of the first papers to highlight this trend. Dr. Dabelea ’s research looking at diabetes during pregnancy led her to believe that a life course approach to diabetes with a specific focus on pediatric diabetes, could increase the likelihood of identifying early risk factors for the disease, as well as its progression, before chronic complications can develop.
Colorado School of Public Health Profile
Research Profile
Stacie DaughertyStacie Daugherty, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine:  Dr. Daugherty’s research focus has been on health disparities broadly and specifically on how SES impacts health care delivery.  She collaborates closely with behavioral psychologists on the Boulder campus as well as colleagues at Denver Health.  Her work has been supported by the NIH.
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile
Michael HoMichael Ho, MD, Professor of Medicine and Vice Chair for Quality:  Dr. Ho has a long and distinguished funding record that has focused on medication adherence as a measure of health care quality and has directed efforts that span the VA COIN health system focused on improving hard endpoints that define quality care.  More recently his work has been directed towards pragmatic trials that can be conducted within a health system that speak to both the quality and value of care that is provided.  His work has been supported by the VA, NIH and PCORI.  He also directs a major SOM initiative entitled D2V (or Data to Value) which is designed to leverage our informatics infrastructure so as to improve the value determinants of health care.
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile
David KaoDavid Kao, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine:  Dr Kao is a bioinformatics oriented investigator who has leveraged large data sets to explore clinical behaviors.  His work has included defining molecular phenotypes of patients with heart failure to predict therapeutic responses to beta adrenergic blockade and he has also explored latent clinical class in large cohorts of HFpEF patients to predict clinical responsiveness.  His work has been supported by both the AHA and the NIH.
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile
Shelley MiyamotoShelley Miyamoto, MD, Professor of Pediatrics: Dr. Miyamoto’s research focuses on the failing right ventricle of children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) and the failing left ventricle of children with dilated cardiomyopathy. The scope of her investigations includes studies of molecular adaptation of the failing heart, identification of novel therapeutic targets, animal model development and characterization and biomarker assessment. Dr. Miyamoto has mentored over 30 trainees from the high school to the post-doctoral/junior faculty level since 2005.
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile
MestroniLouisa Mestroni, MD, Professor of Medicine:  Dr. Mestroni has a longstanding interest in the genetics of dilated cardiomyopathies with a particular focus on arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia and lamin associated DCM.  Her work extends from the basic domain, modeling cardiomyopathies in EPCs, to the clinical.  She oversees one of the largest European DNA repositories derived from these unusual patients and serves as a co-investigator of a LeDuq grant exploring the genetic determinants of ARVD.
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile
NakanoStephanie Nakano, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics:  Dr. Nakano works closely with Dr. Miyamoto in pediatrics and also with Dr. Sucharov in adult cardiology.  She has been interested in diverse myocyte signaling pathways, specifically related to adenyl cyclase and phosphodiesterase 5 that distinguish adult and pediatric heart failure.  These distinct signaling patterns likely influence the therapeutic responses in these patient populations.  Her work, like that of Dr. Chatfield, is K-award supported and we would project a co-mentorship role for her which would advance her career and would also engage pediatric trainees.
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile
Brian StaufferBrian Stauffer, MD, Professor of Medicine:  Dr. Stauffer is the chief of the section of cardiology at Denver Health.  He has a long-standing interest in cardiac metabolism and in mitochondrial function and on the clinical front he has worked closely with the vascular medicine group in Boulder to study endothelial function and vascular responsivity in various clinical populations.  His work has been supported by the NIH.
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile


  
Steve AbmanSteve Abman, MD, Professor of Pediatrics: Dr. Abman’s research activities include clinical and laboratory oriented projects related to lung development and neonatal lung diseases, such as persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn and bronchopulmonary dysplasia. 
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile
Andrew FontenotAndrew Fontenot, MD, Professor of Medicine, Head, Division of Allergy and Immunology:  His recent research focuses on T cell recognition in noninfectious granulomatous lung disease (in particular, sarcoidosis and chronic beryllium disease). With an accessible target organ and a known antigen, beryllium-induced disease serves as a model of an organ-specific immune-mediated disease. 
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile
Sonia FloresSonia Flores, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Vice Chair of Diversity, Department of Medicine:  Dr. Flores examines the role that HIV proteins such as Nef play in pulmonary vascular remodeling, inflammation, and metabolic reprogramming.  She has expertise in lung microbiome/virome in HIV and how lung colonization by unculturable bacteria may lead to pulmonary dysbiosis in HIV.
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile
Fernando HolguinFernando Holguin, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Public Health: Dr Holguin's translational research focuses on understanding the pathophysiology of the obese asthma phenotype. Specifically, how obesity-associated metabolic changes affect airway epithelial mitochondrial function, nitric oxide and oxidative stress pathways. Dr Holguin's labs supports translational research in primary human airway epithelial cells as well as phase II and III clinical research studies in asthma. 
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile
Lisa Maier

Lisa Maier, MD, Professor of Medicine, Chief, Division of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences: Dr. Maier directs a research program which focuses on defining immunogenomic and exposure risk factors and biomarkers and natural history of granulomatous disease. The goals of this program are to advance our understanding of the development of these diseases, define the disease course and predictors of early disease (diagnostic tests) and disease progression (prognostic tests) along with new strategies for prevention and therapy. 

National Jewish Health Bio
Research Profile

Eva NozikEva Nozik, MD, Professor of Pediatrics: As a pediatric physician-scientist, Dr. Grayck’s overall goal is to investigate mechanisms responsible for pulmonary vascular structure and function throughout the stages of life, and to understand how disruption in these processes contribute to pulmonary vascular disease. Her focus is predominantly on the contribution of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and antioxidant systems in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension.  
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile 
Irina PetracheIrina Petrache, MD, Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, Chief of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, National Jewish Health: Dr. Petrache investigates the pathogenesis of and repair strategies for pulmonary emphysema and COPD. Her studies have focused on the role of cell death in lung alveoli, the significance of bioactive lipid such as sphingolipids in lung responses to cigarette smoke and vasculo-protective effects of alpha-one antitrypsin. Her laboratory is also involved in collaborative work related to lung regeneration, metabolomic phenotyping in COPD, and e-cigarette research.
National Jewish Health Bio
Research Profile 
Jon SametJonathan Samet, MD, MS Professor of Public Health and Dean School of Public Health:  Dr. Samet has focused on the epidemiology of lung disease, including airway disease and lung cancer.  His research focuses on the health risks of inhaled pollutants—particles and ozone in outdoor air and indoor pollutants including secondhand smoke and radon.  He has also investigated the occurrence and causes of cancer and respiratory diseases, emphasizing the risks of active and passive smoking.  For several decades, he has been involved in global health, focusing on tobacco control, air pollution, and chronic disease prevention.  
Colorado School of Public Health Bio
Research Profile
David SchwartzDavid Schwartz, MD Professor of Medicine and Immunology, Chair, Department of Medicine:  Dr. Schwartz melds genetics and environmental sciences to study diseases that are affected by immune dysfunction or alter lung homeostasis.  In terms of asthma, Dr. Schwartz has focused on the T cell skewing that is influenced through environmental stimuli through epigenetic marks.  Most recently, he has found, through genomic interrogation and functional analysis, that a gain-of-function promoter variant in MUC5B is associated with IPF.  He was recently awarded a program project from the Department of Defense to study the effect of MUC5B and mucociliary function in the early stages of IPF.  
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile 
Sunita SharmaSunita Sharma, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine: Dr. Sharma studies the developmental origin of asthma and asthma genetics and genomics.  Using gene expression profiling in human fetal lung tissue, Dr. Sharma investigates the impact of intrauterine smoke exposure on the genomic signature of human lung development with a specific interest in microRNAs.
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile 
Kurt StenmarkKurt Stenmark, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Section Head, Critical Care Medicine: Dr. Stenmark focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms that contribute to structural remodeling of the pulmonary vasculature and right heart dysfunction in the setting of pulmonary hypertension and acute lung injury. Dr. Stenmark is PI of an NIH funded T32 on Translational pulmonary vascular biology.
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile 
SzeflerStanley Szefler, MD, Professor of Pediatrics: Dr. Szefler focuses on personalized asthma management, asthma characteristics that are associated with asthma exacerbations and response to asthma therapy, and school-centered asthma programs to assure that these children have consistent medical care.
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile 
Liva VeressLivia Veress, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics: Dr. Veress research focus is on the mechanisms of chemically-induced inhalational lung injury and specializes in plastic bronchitis, bronchiolitis obliterans and pulmonary fibrosis.
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile 
Carl WhiteCarl White, MD, Professor of Pediatrics: Dr. White studies the effects of toxic inhaled industrial or weaponized chemicals on the airway epithelium, pulmonary physiology, and airway and lung fibrosis. He studies the pathogenesis and natural history of toxic chemical inhalation, and along with investigators in the Pediatric Airway Research Center, he investigates the renewal of the epithelia after toxic insults and participates in the discovery and development of rescue countermeasures after chemical inhalation.
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile 
Pamela ZeitlinPam Zeitlin, MD, Professor and Chair of Pediatrics:  As Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Zeitlin oversees the pediatric clinical and research programs at National Jewish Health. Her research focuses on chloride channels and CFTR regulation in cystic fibrosis, including translational strategies to enhance CFTR function.
National Jewish Health Bio
Research Profile 


 
Tyler BucknerTyler Buckner, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine: Dr. Buckner’s research focuses on assessment of patient-reported outcomes in individuals with bleeding disorders. He is testing the psychometric properties of various pain assessment tools in men with hemophilia and studying the implementation of these tools in clinical care settings. He also leads a national, prospective cohort study of the natural history of hemophilia A and B patients, and he serves as co-principal investigator for a study of long-term outcomes in men with hemophilia after hip and knee replacement surgery.
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile 


Raul TorresRaul Torres, PhD, Professor of Immunology:  Dr. Torres’ overall research interests center on understanding on how peripheral immunological tolerance may be manipulated to provide protective humoral and cellular immunity. Specifically, he is investigating if peripheral tolerance is physiologically relaxed under certain inflammatory settings allowing weakly autoreactive B lymphocytes to mount cross-reactive antibody responses against pathogens that camouflage as self antigens.  
School of Medicine Bio
Research Profile 

 



 

Starr Program

Application Information

Program Milestones

Research Training

StARR Scholars

Principal Investigators

David A. Schwartz, MD
Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Immunology

Steve Abman, MD
Director, Pediatric Heart-Lung Center
Founder and Co-Director, Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension Program
Professor of Pediatrics 

Peter Buttrick, MD
Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs 
S. Gilbert Blount Endowed Professor

Program Contacts

Geoffrey Connors, MD, FACP
Director, Internal Medicine Residency Program 

Julie Venci, MD
Director, Medicine/Pediatrics Residency Program

Adam Rosenberg, MD
Director, Pediatrics Residency Program

Mark Nehler, MD
Director, General Surgery Residency Program

Department of Medicine (SOM)

CU Anschutz

Academic Office One

12631 East 17th Avenue

8601

Aurora, CO 80045


303-724-1785

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