Strengthening Surgical Scientists Capacity for NCD-Lifespan Research (SSSCAR) Program - Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cancers, trauma, obesity, respiratory, cardiometabolic, digestive, renal, and musculoskeletal diseases, are leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally and are rapidly increasing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Many surgically amenable NCDs across the lifespan can be effectively addressed through surgery, yet research training in global surgical science remains limited. The Strengthening Surgical Scientists Capacity for NCD-Lifespan Research (SSSCAR) Program, led by the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), will strengthen the capacity of residents and fellows of the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) to conduct rigorous research on surgically amenable NCDs, particularly among women. The program will partner with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), the Center for Bioethics and Research (CBR), and WACS to deliver multidisciplinary MSc-level research training, mentored research projects, Individual Development Plans, e-mentoring, and training in research ethics, grantsmanship, research administration, responsible conduct of research, and team science. The populations, clinical settings, health systems, and surgical training environments central to the project are located in Nigeria and West Africa and cannot be replicated in the United States. WACS trainees are embedded in high-burden settings where access to surgical care is constrained by social, economic, cultural, and health-system barriers. NOUN provides a distributed open-learning infrastructure that allows trainees to remain at their clinical sites while completing graduate-level research training. Conducting the program in Nigeria and through WACS creates a unique opportunity to train surgeon-scientists within the environments where they will ultimately practice and conduct research. SSSCAR has direct relevance to American health. The targeted conditions, including breast and cervical cancers, uterine fibroids, obesity-related diseases, trauma, and cardiometabolic disorders, contribute substantially to morbidity, mortality, and health disparities in the United States. Research conducted through SSSCAR will generate evidence on prevention, screening, early detection, implementation, access to care, health economics, and outcomes in populations of African ancestry and resource-constrained settings, with important implications for underserved U.S. populations. Expected outputs include a sustainable surgical research training model, trained investigators and mentors, research publications and grant applications, and a durable U.S.–West Africa collaborative platform for surgically amenable NCD research.
