Mentored Research Training in Aging and Surgery (MERITAS) - Although older adults account for 40% of inpatient surgical procedures and for two-thirds of all patients undergoing the 10 most common operations, their numbers are on the rise, and they suffer significantly worse outcomes than younger counterparts, critical knowledge gaps exist in how to best care for them and improve their outcomes. Surgeon-scientists are an important bridge between investigation and bedside patient care. Unfortunately, the surgeon-scientist workforce is threatened by increasing pressures to generate clinical revenue, the declining numbers of surgeons with federally funded research programs, and lack of mentorship for future generations. Research training during surgical residency has been suggested as a solution for reversing this trend and some have predicted that surgeon-scientists will become “extinct” without such opportunities. There is a critical need to train surgeons in aging research who will be able to tackle important research and clinical challenges to meet the growing need for surgery among older adults. We propose the Mentored Research Training in Aging and Surgery (MERITAS) Program at the Center for Surgery and Public Health (CSPH) at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) to train surgical residents in health services research at the intersection of surgery and aging with a particular focus on frailty, Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias, Multimorbidity, and Serious Illness. The overall goal of this training program is to create a diverse community of n=8 superbly trained surgeon-scientists to conduct studies to take on the mounting research, clinical, and policy challenges to improving care for older surgical patients. The MERITAS program has three aims: 1) To leverage existing rigorous post-doctoral training infrastructure at CSPH, BWH, the Longwood Medical Area (Harvard Medical School and the TH Chan Harvard School of Public Health) and the Boston Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center to generate resident-led, hypothesis-driven research from concept to dissemination intersecting surgery and aging under the mentorship of a multidisciplinary cadre of health services researchers in aging and surgery. 2) To increase access to rigorous training in health services research in surgery and aging for surgical residents from groups URiM and clinical training programs lacking resources to support such research training through targeted recruitment and mentorship. And 3) To launch a community of next-generation health services researchers in surgery and aging prepared for independent research careers through networking, longitudinal sponsorship and alumni activities. The program will be co-led by surgeon-scientists Drs. Zara Cooper and Louis Nguyen, and supported by 14 experienced mentors, with critical input from an Executive Committee and External Advisory Board comprised of researchers and leaders in surgery, geriatrics, epidemiology, health policy and other key disciplines. This program will yield a diverse cohort of future surgeon-scientists dedicated to improving the health and well-being of older surgical patients.
