Early in May, Department of Internal Medicine Grand Rounds hosted three Stimulating Access to Research in Residency—or StARR—Scholars for updates in their NIH’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) grant-funded research. The grant is led by Professor in Pulmonary Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology, David Stoltz, MD, PhD, in partnership with UI Stead Family Department of Pediatrics’ Chief Scientific Officer and Professor of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology, Paul McCray, Jr., MD.

Presentations ranged from lymphoma to lung dysfunction, with the learners’ mentors supporting them in attendance.

Brian Link, MD, with mentee Jonathan Day, MD, PharmD

Josalyn Cho, MD, with mentee Ashten Sherman, MD

Brian Gehlbach, MD, with mentee Haley Pysick, MD

Jonathan Day, MD, PharmD, also a Physician-Scientist Training Pathway (PSTP) scholar, kicked off the hour with his presentation, “What Now? Prognostication and patterns of care: areas of unmet need in Follicular Lymphoma.” Mentored by Professor Emeritus in the Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Brian Link, MD, Day participated in Link’s multicenter observational cohort study, Lymphoma Epidemiology of Outcomes, or LEO.

Link called Day “a pro’s pro” and lauded him as a valued member of the research team who “synergistically contributed to the give and take of research ideas, processes, and data interpretation,” predicting Day’s future thriving in team-research environments.

“The only thing I’ll say about Dr. Day’s presentation is that it took a lot of discipline on his part to appreciate over several iterations that he couldn’t possibly do justice to his accomplishments of the past year-plus in the 12 minutes allotted to him,” Link commented following Day’s presentation. “Badgering him to leave terrific material on the film-room cutting floor was the first time in nearly two years of collaboration that I had to use the phrase, ‘Because I said so!’”

Next, Ashten Sherman, MD, also a PSTP scholar completing her third year of residency, took the podium, presenting “Take a Breath: Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction?” Sherman’s mentor is Associate Professor in Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Occupational Medicine and Director of the Iowa Inflammation Program, Josalyn Cho, MD.

Cho said, “It’s a privilege to work with talented and aspiring young physician-scientists like Dr. Sherman. The StARR program has provided Dr. Sherman with an immersive research experience, and the opportunity to present at Grand Rounds was a fantastic way to highlight some of the skills she has developed.”

Haley Pysick, MD, is another PSTP scholar who closed the hour with her Swiftie-signaling presentation titled, “The Tortured Pulmonologist Department (TTPD): Mysteries of postictal breathing patterns.” Clinical Professor in Pulmonary, Critical Care and Occupational Medicine, and of Neurology, Brian Gehlbach, MD mentored Pysick.

Of Pysick, Gehlbach said, “Working with Dr. Haley has been a terrific experience. I like to challenge my mentees up front to drive the agenda for their work and our meetings as much as they can. Dr. Pysick didn’t need to be told this twice. Her industry, enthusiasm, and can-do attitude have energized our group and propelled a challenging project to near-fruition. I expect the paper she is finalizing to be widely cited in the SUDEP literature.”

Initiated in 2021, the StARR grant funds an additional year of residency for those learners who want to dedicate protected time to research in the areas of cardiology, pulmonary medicine, sleep, or hematology. The grant will be eligible for renewal in 2025.

“Dr. Stoltz’s StARR scholars program is a win for so many constituencies,” said Link of the NIH R38 grant. “It provides a splendid boost of energetic talent into a research team such as ours and raises us to a higher productivity.  It clearly furthers UI Health Care’s effort to walk the walk in the institutional goal to change medicine and change lives, and at the end of the day the StARR program is good for the patients we serve.” Link cited the specific breakthroughs Day is discovering but his example will apply to all the new scholarship that is generated by these three researchers as well as the future ones mentored at Iowa.