What Are You Doing This Summer?
The UCSD Stein Institute for Research on Aging (SIRA)
has openings for first-year medical students
interested in a paid research training opportunity!
The Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR) Program*
Funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Co-sponsors include the John A. Hartford Foundation
and the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR)
The UCSD Stein Institute for Research on Aging (SIRA) offers an intensive summer research
training program to interested medical students. Up to 18 students from across the nation
are paired with experienced scientists from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
and three neighboring institutions (the Burnham Institute, the Salk Institute, and the Scripps
Research Institute). They are provided an opportunity to conduct hands-on research by
pursuing basic science, clinical or health services research projects in the broad areas of
geriatrics and gerontology with their selected mentor (see page 2 for sample projects).
Additionally, students complete a combination of didactics and workshops, and receive an
introduction to clinical geriatrics, all of which reinforce the skills learned in the direct
research experience. Duration of training varies from a minimum of 8 full-time consecutive
weeks to a maximum of 12 weeks during the summer months. Students participating in the
training program receive a stipend in the amount of approximately $1,700 per month, with
amount prorated accordingly depending on training duration. At the conclusion of the
training program, it is expected that all trainees will, at a minimum, have developed an
abstract and drafted a poster with guidance from their mentor, with travel support provided
to the students to present their poster at the American Geriatrics Society annual meeting.
This training experience can assist medical students meet their Independent Study Project
(ISP) requirement.
Applications are due by February 7, 2007!
Interested in learning more?
Contact Jennifer Reichstadt, Program Director,
at 858-534-1226 or jreichst@ucsd.edu.
*formerly called the SMART Program
Potential Summer Research Project Examples
Research Area
Mentor
Institution
Department
Sleep Disorders
Sonia Ancoli-Israel, PhD
UCSD
Psychiatry
Epidemiology,
Healthy Aging
Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, MD
UCSD
Family & Preventive
Medicine
Macular Degeneration
Stuart Brown, MD / Barbara
Brody, MPH
UCSD
Shiley Eye Center
Cardiac Amyloidosis in Aging
African Americans
Joel Buxbaum, MD
Scripps
Molecular and
Experimental Medicine
Biology of Aging in
Nervous System
Laura L. Dugan, MD
UCSD
Medicine
Neuroplasticity, Gene Therapy
Fred Gage, PhD
Salk
Lab of Genetics
Biomarkers and
Pharmacotherapy for MCI and
Alzheimer’s Disease
Doug Galasko, MD
UCSD
Neurosciences
Quality of Life
Ted Ganiats, MD
UCSD
Family & Preventive
Medicine
Schizophrenia, Healthy Aging
Dilip V. Jeste, MD
UCSD
Psychiatry and
Neurosciences
Cognition, fMRI, Aging Twins
William Kremen, MD
UCSD
Psychiatry
Neurodegenerative Disorders
T. Dianne Langford, Ph.D.
UCSD
Pathology
Cell and Molecular
Mechanisms in
Neurodegeneration
Stuart Lipton, MD
Burnham
Neurosciences
Pathophysiology and Treatment
of Stroke
Patrick Lyden, MD
UCSD
Neurosciences
Mouse Models of
Alzheimer’s Disease,
Parkinson’s Disease
Eliezer Masliah, MD
UCSD
Neurosciences
Breast Cancer in
Elderly Women
Joanne Mortimer, MD
UCSD
Medicine
Medical Anthropology, Latinos
Lawrence Palinkas, PhD
UCSD
Family & Preventive
Medicine
Prevention of Obesity
and Diabetes; Physical Activity
Kevin Patrick, MD
UCSD
Family & Preventive
Medicine
Cancer and Psychosocial Issues
Georgia R. Sadler, PhD
UCSD
Moores Cancer Center
Cartilage Biomechanics
Robert Sah, MD, ScD
UCSD
Bioengineering
Neurocognition
David Salmon, PhD
UCSD
Neurosciences
Statistical Genetics,
Longevity Consortium
Nicholas Schork, PhD
UCSD
Psychiatry
Neurobiology of Aging
and Dementia
Leon Thal, MD
UCSD
Neurosciences
Gene Therapy for
Alzheimer’s Disease
Mark Tuszynski, MD, PhD
UCSD
Neurosciences