For a special group of young professionals, supporting discovery at UT Southwestern is how they make a difference.

Formed in partnership with Southwestern Medical Foundation in 2015, The Cary Council recognizes promising investigators at the institution with the annual Early-Stage Research Grants. Members of the group refer to the honorees as "DocStars," and proceeds from An Evening With DocStars, the organization's annual fundraiser held in November, support the awards.

Each year, event sponsorships and other philanthropic support enable the organization to award grants to outstanding UT Southwestern faculty. This year's recipients of The Cary Council Early-Stage Research Grants include Christina Herrera, M.D., Margaret Hoge, M.D., and Avanthi Shah, M.D. Honorees were selected by The Cary Council's Steering Committee from faculty nominated by UT Southwestern leaders.

An Evening With DocStars was co-chaired by Saryn and Jonathan Dietz, founding members of The Cary Council.

“What continues to be so rewarding about DocStars is to witness how everyone who attended was fully engaged in the mission of the evening – which is to recognize these enormously talented researchers and the individual research work they are undertaking,” Mr. Dietz said. “Our participants’ enthusiasm was such that, at the end of the night, no one wanted to leave.”

• Dr. Hoge is a Dedman Family Scholar in Clinical Care.