# COllaborative Northwestern Surgical Oncology Research Training (CONSORT)

> **NIH NIH T32** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $313,350

## Abstract

SUMMARY
Surgeon-scientists are an underrepresented population in academic medicine, and federally funded physician-
scientist-led research has been in decline over the past decade. Substantial challenges are faced by surgical
trainees seeking research training. Importantly, surgical resident training programs with ample protected time for
dedicated experiential research training have effectively contributed to the “pipeline” of successful, independently
funded surgeon scientists. These researchers have meaningfully impacted surgical oncology patient care and
scientific knowledge. Moreover, there are few opportunities for PhD postdoctoral fellows to work at the
intersection of surgery and oncology. The proposed COllaborative Northwestern Surgical Oncology Research
Training (CONSORT) program brings together the extensive multidisciplinary oncologic expertise at
Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine (NUFSM) and the Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center
to create a multidisciplinary, two-year research training program consisting of (1) a Health Services and
Outcomes Research (HSOR) Track and (2) a Basic Science and Translational (BTS) Research Track. The
CONSORT program will draw upon the Northwestern Department of Surgery’s 30-year experience of training in
BTS oncology research and the 15-year surgical oncology HSOR resident training collaboration between the
Northwestern Institute for Comparative Effectiveness Research in Oncology (NICER-Onc), the HSOR
Postdoctoral Fellowship at Northwestern, and the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Cancer Programs. Since
2009, we have trained 44 surgical research trainees who have gone on to oncology-focused academic careers.
During a two-year, intensive training period (100% protected time), trainees in the CONSORT program will be
immersed in multidisciplinary, experiential research training, using a team science approach, with tailored
mentorship and focused didactic teaching (Master’s degree for those without prior advanced degrees). Each
trainee will have an experienced and diverse Mentor Team (content and methodological experts), tailored to their
training needs. The CONSORT program core curriculum will include courses in study design and analytic
approaches, best practices and ethics in research, and career development. Trainees will participate in the
workshops, seminars, and research training opportunities at Northwestern and at relevant surgical and oncologic
professional societies. Trainees will design and execute research projects that culminate in presentations at
major national conferences and publications in high-impact journals. Continuous monitoring and iterative
program improvement will be achieved by engagement of a highly accomplished External Advisory Committee
and robust evaluation by Northwestern’s Searle Center for Advanced Learning and Teaching. The ultimate goal
of the CONSORT program is to increase the number of investigators who successfully achieve academic careers
as ind...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9935520
- **Project number:** 1T32CA247801-01
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** KARL Y BILIMORIA
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $313,350
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-07-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9935520

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9935520, COllaborative Northwestern Surgical Oncology Research Training (CONSORT) (1T32CA247801-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9935520. Licensed CC0.

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