Advanced Training in Research

As part of the research mission of the Department of Surgery, we support the training of surgical residents and medical students from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine as well as visiting students and fellows from other universities, including international. Many of our surgical residents pursue a mentored 2-3 year research elective in the laboratory of one of our investigators or surgeon-scientists. These research fellowships are supported by two research training grants funded by the National Institutes of Health as well as by individual grants from the NIH, Shriners Burns Institute, and various prestigious surgical organizations including the American College of Surgeons, the Society of University Surgeons, the Shock Society, Surgical Infection Society, and others. Surgical research conducted by surgical residents and other research fellows is highlighted by many platform and poster presentations at annual national meetings of the American College of Surgeons, the Association for Academic Surgery, the Society of University Surgeons, the Society for Surgical Oncology, the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, the American Heart Association, and the American Gastroenterology Association, among others, as well as numerous prestigious basic science conferences such as the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology and the American Cancer Society.

University of Cincinnati: Surgery Education

We believe that education is the foundation of the faculty's activities in the Department of Surgery. Exposure of students and residents to high-quality surgical research during residency is often the singular factor that inspires young surgeons to pursue an academic career. Organization of surgeon-scientist role models and mentors into a curriculum for research training of surgery residents is an ideal mechanism to ensure continued success in the maintenance and growth of academic surgical programs. The goals of the linkage between education and research activities are to produce surgeons who can legitimately compete for NIH funding, increase the number of postdoctoral fellows training in the Department and create strong interfaces with basic science departments in the University of Cincinnati.

Research within the department and related disciplines is showcased at the weekly Surgical Research Seminar Series, as well as at Surgical Grand Rounds. In addition, at intervals throughout the year, research is highlighted at mini-symposia that include short presentations by both research fellows and principal investigators. These correspond to the activities associated with the annual Altemeier and Fischer Visiting Professors, who are selected for their accomplishments as academic surgeon-scientist role models.

National Institutes of Health-Sponsored Training Activities

The Department of Surgery at the University of Cincinnati is actively recruiting surgical residents and postdoctoral fellows to join a diverse and futuristic biomedical research training program. The Department administers two T32 Research Training Grants funded by the National Institutes of Health in the following areas: 1) Host Response to Trauma, and 2) Cardiovascular Biology.  These grants offer training and mentorship by world-renowned surgeon-scientists and researchers in state-of-the-art laboratories. The training programs are designed to provide fundamental training in basic science research during residency training.

Candidates should be surgery residents or post-doctoral fellows holding an M.D. and/or Ph.D.  Surgery residents should have had a minimum of two years clinical experience in an ACGME-accredited training program and display an interest in an academic career in surgery.  Postdoctoral (Ph.D.) fellows should have an interest in developing a career in the study of surgically-related disease.  Underrepresented minority and women candidates are especially encouraged to apply.

Our research training programs are closely aligned with areas of research focus within the Department of Surgery such as: Trauma, Sepsis & Inflammation, Oncology, Tissue Engineering, and the Institute of Molecular Pharmacology and Biophysics.  Each of these research groups are led by an NIH-funded basic scientist working in collaboration with surgeon-scientists who together create a structured scholarly environment into which trainees are immersed. The program thus provides a broad and deep training experience in which the intellectual rigor of laboratory investigation is enriched by the clinical perspective of surgical practice.