Stanford FARM Program

Fellowship in Anesthesia Research & Medicine

Vivianne Tawfik, MD, PhD
Director, Fellowship in Anesthesiology Research & Medicine (FARM)

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Arts Program

If your goal is to obtain PhD training, another available tract is the Advanced Residency Training at Stanford (ARTS) Program.

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Program Overview

The Department of Anesthesiology of the Stanford University School of Medicine aims to train excellent physicians, future leaders in the specialty, and physician-scientists in clinical or basic science research.

The goal of the Stanford Fellowship in Anesthesia Research and Medicine (or Stanford FARM Scholars) is to recruit applicants to the residency who want careers as physician-scientists spending 75-80% time on research. This resident research track commences at the start of residency with the resident taking up to 9 months for research during the CA1-3 years followed by a minimum of one additional research fellowship year, often on one of our Departmental T32 grants. FARM residents receive an additional $15,000 department research fund annually for research-related expenses (data needs, RA salary, conference travel). 

Applicants are encouraged to take advantage of the great breadth of research training available at Stanford by seeking out faculty mentors and laboratories in any department in the medical school or university. Dr. Vivianne Tawfik, FARM Director, will mentor the resident until a suitable PI/lab is found, which should occur by the end of the CA1 year. Ongoing outstanding clinical performance is required. The program structure is flexible, with several possible options. Examples are outlined below. The American Board of Anesthesiology now allows 9 months of research during the 3 residency years.

Following completion of the three residency years, FARMers are appointed as junior faculty (Clinical Scholar) at the Stanford School of Medicine, with a commitment of 80% effort for research and 20% for clinical care on the Departmental T32 Grant, or foundation funding, if obtained. This can continue for 1 or 2 or more years. The spirit of the FARM program is to nurture young investigators with departmental funding until extramural support is obtained. Foundation for Anesthesia Education & Research (FAER) or International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS) mentored training grants followed by Mentored Clinical Scientist (K08) or Mentored Patient-Oriented Research (K23) Career Development Awards by the NIH are common options.

The resident can apply for the NIH Loan Repayment program. Qualification for this program can result in a reduction of up to $35,000 for two years.

Apply to FARM

Applicants wishing to apply should email their CV and a one-page description of their research background, and career plans to Vivianne Tawfik, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, FARM Program Director, and Brice Gaudilliere, MD, PhD, Professor, FARM associate Director, Stanford University by October 1st of the application year. 

Once you have submitted your research statement, it will be included in your application package for review by the admissions committee. For those selected for an interview, we will have 3 “FARM” interview dates which will consist of the regular residency track interviews followed by additional interviews with departmental research faculty. Prior to the rank deadline, Dr. Tawfik will reach out to let you know whether you would be admitted to the FARM program should you match at Stanford. Note that we do not have a separate FARM match spot. 

Options for Resident Research Career Development Pathway

Normal Residency

  • CA1
  • CA2
  • CA3

 

Residency with 6
Months Research

  • CA1
  • CA2
  • 6 Months Research / CA3
  • Clinical Scholar (80% Research)

 

Residency with 9 Months Research*

  • CA1
  • 3 Months Research / CA2
  • 6 Months Research / CA3
  • Clinical Scholar (80% Research)

Clinical Research Track**
(9 months Research + Masters Post-Residency)

  • CA1
  • 3 Months Research / CA2
  • 6 Months Research / CA3
  • Masters of Science*
  • Clinical Scholar (80% Research)

*Most common pathway
**Funded in part by a Departmental NIH T32 grant

Current FARM Residents

  • CA-3 Residents
    • Caitlin Coombes
    • Sophia Canavan
    • Anna McCarter
    • Payton Marshall

 

  • CA-2 Residents
    • Natalie Koons
    • Akansha Tarun

 

  • CA-1 Residents
  • (currently no FARM residents)

 

  • Interns
    • BaDoi Phan
    • Anthony Hung
    • Kristin Kennedy
    • Lucas Cahill