James M. Stark, MD, PhD

Biography

Dr. James Stark was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio (home of the Cleveland Browns, the Cleveland Indians, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame).  He received a BS in Biology from the Cleveland State University (Summa Cum Laude) in 1976 and received his medical school education through the the MD-PhD program at Case Western Reserve University (PhD 1982, MD  1983).  He completed his residency in Pediatrics and Fellowship in Pediatric Pulmonology at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital.  He is Board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Pulmonology by the American Board of Pediatrics.

Before joining the faculty in the Department of Pediatrics at the McGovern Medical school in 2011, he was on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin at Madison WI (1989-1993), Children’s Hospital Medical Center/University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati OH (1993-1998), University of Missouri-Columbia MO (1999-2003- Promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics with tenure), UT Health Sciences Center at Houston (2003-2006), and Dayton Children’s Hospital/Wright State University 2006-2011, promoted to Professor of Pediatrics).

Dr. Stark had a strong research interest in the molecular mechanisms of lower respiratory disease in children going back to his MD/PhD training. His PhD thesis project focused on molecular mechanisms of hemolytic toxin production by E. coli .  During his fellowship he developed cell culture models of respiratory virus infection in primary respiratory epithelial cells.  His subsequent research focused on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and cellular inflammation in these cell culture models and the role of viral infection in activation of cellular inflammatory mediators, NF- and AP1 and subsequent cytokine production in virus-infected cells.  He used a mouse model of RSV infection in inbred mouse strains to explore the genetics of RSV susceptibility.

Dr. Stark’s clinical interests focus on mechanisms of lung inflammation in pediatric respiratory disease, specifically, viral lower respiratory infections (particularly RSV), cystic fibrosis, childhood interstitial lung disease (ChILD), and lung immunology.  He particularly interested in the role of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in lung inflammation- this seems to be involved in lung inflammation in a number of diseases, including CF, and surfactant protein C deficiency. He has co-authored book chapters on Lung Defenses for the Disorders of the Respiratory Tract in Children (Editions 6-10) and Pulmonary Manifestations of Immunodeficiency and Immunosuppressive diseases other than HIV in Pulmonary Manifestations of Pediatric Diseases.

Dr. Stark has a strong interest and dedication to medical education.  He served as the Pediatric Pulmonology Fellowship Training Program Director at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital/University of Cincinnati for 4 years and at the McGovern Medical School/University of Texas for 11 years. In this he was responsible for curriculum development and compliance to ACGME program requirements.  Trainees from the UT fellowship program have a 100% pass rate on the first attempt of the Pediatric Pulmonology Board Certification examination and typically score above the mean of the SITE exam taken yearly by trainees. He continues to develop and improve fellowship training as the Associate Program Director of the Pediatric Pulmonology Fellowship program at UT.