# Surgical Oncology Basic Science and Translational Research Training Program

> **NIH NIH T32** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $616,670

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The decrease in the number of physician-scientists has been widely recognized as a major threat to biomedical
research, and there has been an even more dramatic decrease in the number of surgeon-scientists. The
Department of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine is one of the nation's leading academic
surgery departments and is currently ranked #2 in NIH funding by the Blue Ridge Medical Institute. The
Department has a strong and uncompromising commitment to training academic surgeon-scientists. The
Surgical Oncology Basic Science and Translational Research Training Program is a critical component of this
overall training goal. NCI support will provide a diverse cadre of up to eight surgical trainees from general
surgery and other surgical subspecialties the opportunity to develop essential skill sets in basic science,
translational, public health, and/or disparities research. The Surgical Oncology Research Training Program has
evolved in parallel with a dynamic training environment at WUSM, and currently takes advantage of unique
resources in the Department of Surgery, Siteman Cancer Center, the Department of Surgery's Division of
Public Health Sciences, and the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences to develop customized and
highly structured formal didactic and mentored research experiences for individual T32 Program Scholars. The
success of the Program is demonstrated by the long-term success of T32 Program Scholars in academic
surgery. 24 of 32 Scholars (75%) who have completed the Program and clinical training in the last fifteen years
remain in academic medicine, significantly better than published metrics (16-44%). Similarly, 7 of 32 Scholars
(22%) who have completed the Program and clinical training in the last fifteen years have independent
research funding, significantly better than published metrics (1.0-2.5%). The Surgical Oncology Research
Training Program continues to evolve. Changes include changes to the program leadership, development of
two distinct research tracks (basic science track, and translational research/public health/clinical effectiveness
track), development of program-specific Work-in-Progress and Professional Development Seminar Series, and
a formal mentoring training program. These changes will ensure that the Surgical Oncology Research Training
Program will continue to maintain excellence at the forefront of two different surgical oncology research
paradigms, basic science research, and translational/public health/clinical effectiveness/disparities research.
The WUSM General Surgery residency is ranked #5 in the nation, and we have an outstanding applicant pool.
We proactively recruit T32 Program Scholars from diverse backgrounds. 51% of T32 Program Scholars in the
last 15 years are women and 16% are from groups underrepresented in medicine (URiM) (significantly more
diverse than the pool from which they are recruited). NCI support will allow WUSM to continue to provide the...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10768958
- **Project number:** 2T32CA009621-36
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** TIMOTHY J. EBERLEIN
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $616,670
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 1988-07-05 → 2029-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10768958

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10768958, Surgical Oncology Basic Science and Translational Research Training Program (2T32CA009621-36). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10768958. Licensed CC0.

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