The NCI Surgical Oncology Fellowship is a highly competitive two-year training program consisting of six months of clinical rotations (thoracic, endocrine, GI, and consultative surgery), as well as 18 months of dedicated laboratory research. During the past 40 years, the Surgical Oncology Fellowship Program (SOFP) has been highly successful; many former fellows are now leaders in surgical oncology and thoracic surgery at major academic medical centers throughout the United States. Originally run by Dr. Rosenberg from the Surgery Branch, the Surgical Oncology Fellowship became my responsibility following the reorganization of the CCR in 2013. A core mission of Thoracic and GI Surgery Sections of TOSB is to maintain the legacy of the SOFP and enhance the academic experience of its participants. To achieve these goals, we initiated several changes to strengthen the academic aspects of the program. For example, we have implemented a formal evaluation process for assessing performance of the fellows while on the clinical services. Furthermore, we have initiated a weekly conference devoted to the unique surgical aspects of NIH research protocols, as well as another weekly conference devoted to clinical quality assurance and presentations by expert guest speakers from within the NIH as well as regional medical centers. In addition to these fellowship-specific activities, there are weekly TOSB, Immunotherapy and Endocrine Surgery conferences, biweekly Thoracic as well as GI tumor boards, and numerous NIH-wide conferences that enhance education of the fellows. The laboratory training experience is the major component of the fellowship program and is uniformly identified as the impetus for physicians seeking admission to the SOFP. Each year, eight physicians enter the SOFP; three of these individuals are tracking directly from the Tumor Immunology Fellowship in the Surgery Branch. The remaining five individuals are selected from outside institutions specifically for the two-year SOFP. These are uniformly highly motivated, outstanding young surgeons. Overall, there are currently 18 FTEs for the SOFP, and 3 FTEs for the Tumor Immunology Fellowship on the Surgical Core of the TOSB. From the Surgical Core, allocations that support the fellows while they are on the clinical service or in the lab (salary, supplies and services, and travel/training) are now distributed in a prorated fashion twice a year to more equitably fund PIs who take people into the lab, thereby better aligning the fellowship academic year, which commences in July, with the fiscal year which commences in October.
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