Stipends for Training Aspiring Researchers (STAR) Program

Creating Research Opportunities for Underrepresented Minorities

In 1993, Dr. Michael Portman helped found the Stipends for Training Aspiring Researchers (STAR) program. Its mission is to increase the number of underrepresented students entering cardiology, pulmonary, hematology and sleep research. Portman is the program's principal investigator.

Each year STAR offers 12-week biomedical research internships to talented students who have completed at least one year of undergraduate studies. The program strongly encourages students from underrepresented minority groups (i.e., African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic/Mexican American) to apply.

The STAR program has helped hundreds of underrepresented minority, economically and educationally disadvantaged, and disabled students learn the skills needed to participate in, and experience the excitement of, biomedical and biobehavioral research. More than 50 STAR alumni have completed professional or graduate degrees and dozens are currently in school, with many seeking PhD degrees. Several STAR alumni are teaching or conducting research at major colleges or universities.

The program is open to junior/senior level undergraduates and entering graduate students pursuing a master's/PhD in the biomedical/biobehavioral science fields. Undergraduates must have a 3.0 or greater grade point average, and entering graduates must be nominated by their departments.

For more information regarding the application process or mentoring, please contact Karlotta J. Rosebaugh. More information about STAR is available through its University of Washington Web page.