Program Intro & Structure
The MSTAR Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai provides medical students with an enriching experience in aging-related research and geriatrics and palliative medicine, with the mentorship of top experts in the fields. This program introduces students to research and academic experiences early in their training that they might not otherwise have during medical school. Positive experiences in the MSTAR program have led many physicians-in-training to pursue academic careers in aging, ranging from basic science to clinical research to health services research.
Students participate in a structured research, clinical, and didactic program in geriatrics and palliative medicine, appropriate to their level of training and interests. Research projects are offered in basic-translational, clinical, or health services research relevant to older adults. Students should apply to the MSTAR program with an identified mentor who is a faculty member at ISMMS engaged in relevant research. If you do not yet have a mentor, please reach out to mstar@mssm.edu to speak with the program's faculty directors, Dr. Rainier Soriano and Dr. Fred Ko.
Please note that applicants must have a faculty sponsor/mentor from their home institution who is willing to facilitate and support the student’s work to apply.
Stipend: The stipend level is approximately $2,352 every 4 weeks for the summer 2025 program. Approximately $2,000 of the total stipend will be reserved to cover the costs of attendance at the Society for General Internal Medicine (SGIM) Annual Scientific Meeting in Washington, DC in May 2026.
Format & dates: While some MSTAR activities are held remotely, there will be required in-person MSTAR programming from June 2 through July 25, 2025 (Tentative). Your mentored project work may be held in-person or remotely, in accordance with arrangements made with your mentor. Project work will likely extend beyond the aforementioned dates. If you have specific questions regarding this, please include them in the question regarding scheduling considerations in section 5.
Eligibility
MSTAR is open to allopathic or osteopathic medical students in good standing, who will have successfully completed one year of medical school at a U.S. institution by June 2025. Evidence of good standing must be provided by the medical school registrar or dean when the student is notified of receiving the award.
Applicants must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the United States or must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (i.e., in possession of a currently valid Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551 [green card], or some other legal verification of such status.) Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible.
Due to NIA restrictions, individuals holding PhD, MD, DVM, or equivalent doctoral degrees in the health sciences are not eligible to apply to do the MSTAR Program.
Additionally, applicants receiving a stipend or salary support from a federal source are not eligible for this program. Applicants may not hold another award or participate in another program concurrently with the MSTAR program and must participate in the program full-time in June and July 2025.
The NIA and other sponsoring organizations have a strong interest in continuing to diversify the research workforce committed to advancing the fields of aging and geriatrics research. Students who are members of ethnic or racial groups underrepresented in these fields, students with disabilities, or students whose background and experience are likely to diversify the research or medical questions being addressed are strongly encouraged to apply.