# UW Surgical Oncology Research Training Program (UW-SORT)

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2022 · $480,409

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 The number of funded physician-scientists in the United States has decreased steadily since the 1970s
and the numbers are most alarming for surgeon-scientists. Currently, only 6% of U.S. surgeons have funding
from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)1. From 2006 to 2016, NIH funding for surgery departments
decreased by $2.79 million per year and funding success rates for surgeons declined by 0.21% per year2.
Contemporaneously, publication impact factors and the career development conversion rate (K to R) for
surgeons increased, suggesting the quality of surgical research continues to increase. A recent report from the
NIH expressed concerned about the capacity to translate research into clinical care and policy as the number
of well-trained individuals who cross the bench to bedside divide drops3.
 There are two evidence-based interventions that effectively promote surgeon engagement in research. The
integration of a two-year research fellowship into general surgery residency increases the likelihood of an
academic career. The track record of our training program, which has adhered to this model over the last 20
years, is strong with the majority of our trainees receiving subsequent funding and/or an appointment in an
academic department. Recent evidence shows that the presence of PhD-scientists in a department of surgery
strongly correlates with increased departmental research productivity as well as increased productivity for
individual surgeon-scientists4. We therefore propose the following specific objectives for our training program:
 1. To provide training in the conduct of basic, translational, clinical and health services surgical oncology
 research through a tailored, didactic, postdoctoral research experience;
 2. To increase the number of well-trained PhD-scientists with a focus in surgical oncology;
 3. To develop scientists and surgeon-scientists as academic leaders with an emphasis on multidisciplinary
 and translational research as the next generation of surgical researchers in oncology.
To meet these objectives, the University of Wisconsin (UW) Surgical Oncology Training (UW-SORT) Program
utilizes the extensive resources of the UW Department of Surgery, UW Carbone Cancer Center (UWCCC), the
McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, the Wisconsin Surgical Outcomes Research Program (WiSOR) and
the UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR) to provide world-class, mentored training in the
research methodologies necessary to develop productive NIH-funded research programs in surgical oncology.
The core of our training program is a strong and diverse pool of experienced, extramurally funded trainers from
a variety of surgical oncology-related disciplines. The trainee's practical research experience is supported by
appropriate didactics, effective assessment processes, a plan to promote diversity by recruiting and retaining
both women and minorities, and a comprehensive plan for training in the respons...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10418611
- **Project number:** 5T32CA090217-22
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** Heather B Neuman
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $480,409
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2001-05-01 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10418611

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10418611, UW Surgical Oncology Research Training Program (UW-SORT) (5T32CA090217-22). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10418611. Licensed CC0.

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