Children’s Surgery Methodology And Research Training (C-SMART) - SUMMARY Surgical trainees seeking formal research training face substantial challenges. Surgeon-scientists are an underrepresented population in academic medicine, and federally funded physician-scientist–led research has been in decline over the past decade. At the intersection of pediatric surgical care and scientific research, there are very few research training opportunities for either surgical residents or PhD postdoctoral fellows. Surgical resident training programs that incorporate protected time for dedicated experiential research training have effectively contributed to the “pipeline” of successful, independently funded surgeon-scientists. The proposed Children’s Surgery Methodology And Research Training (C-SMART) Program will bring together the extensive expertise at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine (NUFSM) and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (LCH) to create a multidisciplinary, 2-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 C-SMART Program will synergize NUFSM resources with training collaboration with opportunities within the growing LCH Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute. Over the past 10 years, we have leveraged this collaboration and curated a pipeline for nearly a dozen surgical research trainees and PhD postdoctoral fellows to pursue successful academic careers at the intersection of child health and surgery. During the proposed 2-year, intensive training period, trainees in the C-SMART Program will be immersed in multidisciplinary, experiential research training, using a team science approach, with tailored mentorship and focused didactic teaching (e.g., symposia, lecture series, master’s degree courses). Each trainee will have an experienced and diverse Mentor Team of content, methodological, and clinical experts, tailored to their training needs. The C-SMART 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 workshops, seminars, and research training opportunities at NUFSM, LCH, and at relevant surgical and pediatric professional societies. Trainees will design and execute research projects that culminate in presentations at major national conferences and publications in high-impact journals. The program will leverage both Diversity & Inclusion and Pipeline Committees to attract competitive applicants and foster the retention and success of trainees who are historically underrepresented in surgery. Continuous monitoring and iterative program improvement will be achieved by engaging a highly accomplished External Advisory Committee and through robust evaluation by Northwestern’s Program Evaluation Core. The goal of the C-SMART Program is to increase the number of investigators who successfully achieve academic careers as independently funded pediatric surgical scientists. NUFSM AND LCH are uniquely positioned to ensure the success of the C-SMART Program and the continued development of future children’s surgical scientific leaders.
