The Utah Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (Utah StARR) program is designed to prepare outstanding residents for a career in academic medicine and clinical investigation by providing them with opportunities to learn and practice clinical, transitional, health service, and community-engaged research skills during their residency training. Utah StARR will provide an early "on-ramp" to research careers for competitive academic faculty positions.
Participating residency programs:
The program main components are: career mentoring, individual development plan, non-degree coursework, research seminars, grant writing, pre-submission grant review, pre-award support and writing workshops. Click here for an overview of the Utah StARR resources.
Because the recruitment and training of clinician-researchers is such a high priority at the current time, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has implemented a loan-forgiveness program for doctors who commit to a career in clinical research. Individuals in the Utah StARR program may consider applying for the loan-forgiveness program when their residency is completed.
Additional information about the program or information on application procedures, please visit our application information page or email us at utahstarr@utah.edu.
Utah StARR Scholar Highlights
Utah StARR Scholar Dr. Cecilia Peterson Presents Research at 2026 Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) Annual Meeting
Utah StARR Internal Medicine resident-scholar, Dr. Cecilia Peterson, recently attended the 2026 Society of general Internal Medicine (SGIM) annual Meeting in Maryland, where she presented her research poster: "Toward Aging Centered Anticoagulation Stewardship: Insights from Older Adults with Venous Thromboembolism".
SGIM is a "global association of over 3,300 leading academic general internists dedicated to enhancing medical education, improving healthcare access, eliminating disparities, and advancing comprehensive, coordinated, and cost-effective care for adults through innovative education, research, and clinical practice." The annual conference is a distinguished opportunity, particularly for early-career researchers, to share their findings and collaborate with other experts in their areas of interest.
Dr. Peterson's poster focused on the insights from older patients, their experiences with venous thromboembolism, and their preferences/suggestions for communication about decision-making, medication decisions, and more.
One 68 year-old patient was quoted, "...there was no real good information prior, I guess. Just the bleeding risk. That's what stressed me the most. At that point in my life, I was fairly active and so - or more active than I am now, I should say - and it was always 'I wonder if I fall."
Dr. Peterson's work is the start of understanding patient experience with this condition, and could lead to more effective communication tools for physicians to use when talking about venous thromboembolism and different treatment options.
Congratulations to Dr. Peterson, who continues to focus her research on topics related to geriatrician, blood pressure, pulse wave velocity and cognitive outcomes, and - of course - older adults with venous thromboembolism.
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Victoria Vardell & Alex Zheutlin
Meet the Utah StARR Program Directors
Molly Conroy MD, MPH is a Primary Care Provider and General Internist at the Madsen Internal Medicine Clinic. As a General Internist, her clinical interests include physical activity and lifestyle counseling, weight management, cardiovascular disease prevention, hypertension management, and women’s health. Dr. Conroy received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and her MD from the University of Pennsylvania. She completed an Internal Medicine residency in the Primary Care Track at the University of California, San Francisco and a General Internal Medicine Fellowship at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital. She is Board Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and recognized as a Fellow of both the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association.
Joe Stanford, MD, MSPH, CFCMC, is the Professor and Director of the Office of Cooperative Reproductive Health at the UofU School of Medicine and is the Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. With expertise in reproductive epidemiology, restorative reproductive medicine, natural family planning, women's health, and periconceptional/prenatal origins of health, he has led five preconception cohort studies. Stanford has contributed to national scientific advisory committees, including for the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the Food and Drug Administration's Advisory Committee for Reproductive Health Drugs. Dr. Stanford also serves on the board of the International Institute for Restorative Reproductive Medicine.