Emory’s Internal Medicine Residency Program announces the 2020 “Stimulating Access to Research in Residency” (StARR) grant recipients

The J. Willis Hurst Internal Medicine Residency Program has named two first-year residents, James “Dustin” Denham and Yetunde “Kemi” Fadade, as the 2020 recipients of the “Stimulating Access to Research in Residency” (StARR) grant. Emory was among three institutions nationwide selected to receive the highly competitive StARR award in 2018. The initiative was created by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to address a nationwide shortage of physician scientists. Professor of medicine Igho Ofotokun, MD, and associate professor of medicine Nadine Rouphael, MD in the Division of Infectious Diseases, serve as co-directors of the program.

James “Dustin” Denham has a background in microbiology and a strong interest in infectious diseases. His research focuses on understanding how gut microbiome can predict sepsis outcome. He will use next generation sequencing techniques applied to stool samples longitudinally to determine if alterations in the gut microbiome (dysbiosis) can predict sepsis mortality in the ICU. He will be mentored by Colleen Kraft, MD, MSc.

“The StARR award will help lay the foundation for my career as an academic physician,” said Denham. “There is a clear shortage of physicians working in the translational research space, i.e. bridging the gap from the research bench to the patient bedside. I hope to fill in this gap as an academic infectious disease physician, and I’m sure the StARR award will assist me in translating research findings into day-to-day patient care.”

Yetunde “Kemi” Fadade is passionate about studying health inequalities, particularly related to cardiovascular disease.  She is originally from Nigeria and has a master’s degree in public health. She will be mentored by Igho Ofotokun, MD, MSc and Puja Mehta, MD, FACC, FAHA.

“The Emory StARR program means an opportunity to work with mentors and physician-scientists who are already doing the daily work to eliminate disparities in cardiovascular disease management, and to glean and grow as a researcher through their mentorship,” said Fadade. “With this award, my dream of becoming a physician-scientist who can one day offer solutions through my research to eliminating disparities in cardiovascular care has become more palpable. For me, research provides an opportunity to be an advocate for all patients, and I am grateful and hopeful that the training through the StARR award will allow me to hone in on the necessary skill set to become a stronger clinician investigator and physician advocate.”

Click here to learn more about the StARR program. Information regarding the 2021 StARR program application process will be available soon.