Oncology Research Training for Surgeon-Scientists

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ABSTRACT The primary focus of our training program at the University of Kentucky (UK) is to provide intensive and interdisciplinary basic science research training to qualified individuals in the various surgical disciplines to prepare them to become independent scientists and incorporate state-of-the-art techniques learned during their training period into a successful academic career. Moreover, these trainees will be prepared to be active participants in multidisciplinary teams which are required for the optimal treatment of the complex cancer patient. Our two-year training program represents a collaboration between the Markey Cancer Center (MCC) and the academic clinical departments at UK and benefits greatly from the experience and collegiality of the program and associate directors who have worked together for many years and have led other successful training programs for clinician-scientists and basic researchers. The primary training faculty is composed of both basic and clinical-scientists who are collaborative and multidisciplinary; each primary faculty mentor is a recognized expert in his or her field and has a long record of research productivity in the training of young investigators from the US and abroad. The diversity of our training program is further enhanced by the inclusion of seasoned adjunct faculty mentors who will provide additional clinical and biostatistical expertise. Also, we have designed a “pipeline” mechanism to provide the time and instruction for promising junior faculty members to further hone their mentoring skills so that they can become effective primary mentors in the future. In addition to an intensive research experience, the trainees take formal courses (eg, grant writing skills, ethics and biostatistics) and are mentored in the fine points of preparing abstracts, scientific papers and presentations, and writing successful grant applications. Furthermore, the trainees participate in regularly scheduled MCC, departmental and Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) seminars and lectures. All of our trainees are required to complete coursework for a Master's degree in Clinical and Translational Science (CTS). In addition, the option of obtaining a PhD is available and encouraged (of note, two former trainees have successfully completed requirements for their PhD degrees and one current trainee is enrolled in the program). The requirement to successfully complete either a Master's or PhD further adds depth and breadth to the program and increase interactions with other scientists on campus through the required supervisory or thesis committees. We are concerned with the alarming decrease in the number of clinician- scientists; this decrease is most apparent in the diminishing number of those in the various surgical specialties. We are passionate, motivated and committed to the training of future academic surgeons.