ABSTRACT This training grant application seeks funding for the Duke Research Training Program in Surgical Oncology in the Duke University Department of Surgery. The new submission includes a structural reorganization of our long-running program in order to be more relevant and responsive to the evolving training needs of surgical scientists in surgical oncology. The program has been designed to provide future surgeon-scientists with the research methods and skills necessary to pursue independently funded academic careers that will improve the health and outcomes of patients with premalignant or malignant conditions, with a focus on local/regional disease. The training program will combine the substantial academic rigor of the Duke University School of Medicine with the Duke Department of Surgery's long-standing commitment to training the next generation of surgical researchers. The program will be led by a team of surgeon-scientists with a history of funded research and with expertise in surgical oncology. Supplemented by non-surgeon mentors with expertise in basic, translational, and clinical research, this multidisciplinary team spans the breadth of surgical oncology research to address research of local/regional disease: Tumor Invasion and Metastasis, Biomarkers of Prognosis and Treatment Selection and Regional Cancer Immunotherapy. The program will support 4 research fellows each year (2 each year for 2 years); program participants will consist of surgical residents recruited from within and outside of the Duke Surgical Residency Program. Trainees will select two mentors: a primary non-clinician scientific mentor from a highly experienced and diverse group of 14 researchers who will direct their two-year research fellowship and a senior tenured clinical surgical oncologist who will guide their career throughout residency training to their initial academic faculty appointment. Lead by their mentors, the trainees will each develop and execute a research project, which will be the basis of a future career development or independent research award application. A robust research infrastructure and substantial resources provided both by the Department of Surgery and the Duke Cancer Institute will provide 100% of the necessary support for the trainees, thus facilitating their conduct and publication of original investigations without obligations for clinical service. Specific instruction in the technical aspects of surgical oncology investigation will be provided, as will mentorship in scientific writing, publication, ethics, and clinical time management. The unifying objective of the program will be to train the future national leaders in academic surgical oncology.