Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, PhD
Entry Id: TP-77

Overview
The National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Surgical Oncology Fellowship Program trains surgeons committed to academic careers in the growing field of surgical oncology. The program instructs surgical oncologists in a combined modality approach to the evaluation and treatment of cancer patients that includes primary surgical treatment,
chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiation therapy; and provides a solid basis for the conduct of clinical and laboratory research. The Surgical Oncology Fellowship Program is a two-year training program of which six months of the first year are dedicated to clinical training in surgical oncology with rotations on various clinical surgical services. Eighteen months are spent in one of the laboratories of the Surgery Branch dedicated to basic science and translational research.

Structure of the Clinical Training Portion of the Program
During the first year fellows rotate on the surgical oncology service, the surgical consult service, endocrine surgery service, and thoracic surgery service. The consult service provides surgical consultation and care to the adult, pediatric and radiation oncology patients at NCI and provides general surgical consultation not related to cancer for all other institutes at the NIH
Clinical Center. The sugical oncology service provides clinical care for patients on various Surgery Branch clinical research protocols with an emphasis on the use of regional treatment strategies of solid organ malignancies using isolation perfusion or other regional treatment modalities. The endocrine surgery service provides surgical consultation and treatment for patients on various protocols within the N.I.H. with neoplasms of the thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal gland, or islet cell tumors of the pancreas. The thoracic surgery service provides clinical care for patients on primary Surgery Branch protocols as well as consultation and treatment for thoracic surgery related conditions within the N.I.H. Before
the two-year NCI Surgical Oncology Fellowship, a one-year clinical immunotherapy fellowship program is also available to selected applicants. The Surgery Branch conducts two weekly clinical conferences for case presentations, review of clinical topics, and invited presentations or lectures. In addition, a six month didactic lecture series from July to December is presented weekly by the senior staff and covers core topics related to surgical oncology and the field of oncology in general.

Structure of the Research Training Portion of the Program
Fellows may elect to perform projects in any one of several laboratories in the Surgery Branch. General goals of this work include a clear understanding of the experimental method; knowledge of the literature and the important questions being considered in a specific field of study. Emphasis is placed on developing facility with various laboratory techniques, the ability to conduct investigative work independently upon completion of the training program, and on the clinical application of laboratory
studies. Available within the Surgery Branch are extensive state-of-the-art research facilities as well as expertise in a wide variety of areas. The fellow works directly with a principal investigator where he periodically presents his findings to members of the Surgery Branch and to national clinical and scientific meetings and is encouraged to participate in ongoing clinical research protocols.

• Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, PhD, Head, Tumor Immunology Section and Chief, Surgery Branch, NCI.
• Richard Alexander, MD, Head, Surgical Metabolism Section
• David L. Schrump, MD, Head, Thoracic Oncology Section

The NCI Surgical Oncology Fellowship is open to surgeons who have either completed their surgical residency or who have completed at least two years of surgical  residency. Eight positions per year are available for this two-year fellowship program, with a potential option for a third year of laboratory work. The fellowship program accepts applications and identifies qualified applicants throughout the year.

The NIH is dedicated to building a diverse community in its training and employment programs.