For Health Professionals »Fellowships »Surgical Oncology Fellowship

Program Director: Elin R. Sigurdson, MD, PhD, FACS

The Department of Surgical Oncology offers a two-year fellowship for surgeons who have completed an approved residency program. The fellowship has been in existence since 1986 and was certified by the Society of Surgical Oncology in 1991. Approximately 70 per cent of graduates now occupy academic positions. Each year three fellows are accepted through the SSO Matching Program for a two-year program with an option to extend one or two additional years in research upon completion.

The first year of the fellowship begins with non-surgical rotations on Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology and Pathology services. An uninterrupted block is reserved for clinical and/or basic research. Fellows are encouraged to participate in bench research activities in any of the many active laboratories at the Center. Some are based in the Department, some in the Division of Medical Sciences, and others are part of the Institute for Cancer Research. Fellows are expected to participate in and to publish results of surgical clinical trials. During the first year, fellows will attend selected multidisciplinary clinics.

Conferences include a year-long seminar in surgical oncology, a year-long surgical research course, a three-month postdoctoral core course in oncology, daily multidisciplinary conferences, M&M, journal club, and Surgical Grand Rounds. Hence, in addition to receiving formal training in cancer surgery, fellows are exposed to tumor biology, biostatistics, research design, and methodology of clinical and bench research.

The second year of the fellowship is an extremely active operative experience. There are 13 surgical faculty members and the staff continues to grow. There is no subspecialty surgical fellowship training at the Fox Chase Cancer Center. Therefore the surgical fellows will gain primary experience in all aspects of surgical oncology including: cutaneous, upper and lower abdominal surgery, head and neck, endocrine, thoracic, breast, reconstruction, bone and soft tissue sarcoma, urologic oncology, and gynecologic oncology. There is a particularly strong exposure to reoperative abdominal and pelvic procedures. Each fellow should anticipate a well-rounded experience in technical management of complex problems, as well as surgical decision-making.

Applicants should:

1. be eligible for a Pennsylvania Medical License;
2. have completed an approved General Surgery residency in the United States or Canada, and
3. be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or Canada.

Interviews will be conducted in the summer or fall in conjunction with other SSO fellowship institutions.

Contact And Address

Program Director: Elin R. Sigurdson, MD, PhD, FACS
Department of Surgical Oncology
Fox Chase Cancer Center
333 Cottman Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19111
Phone: 215-728-3519
Fax: 215-728-2773
E-mail: Elin.Sigurdson@fccc.edu

To apply for the Fox Chase Cancer Center Surgical Oncology Fellowship Program, please send the following items to Shelly Smith (address below).

1. SSO Fellowship Application [PDF]
   (This link requires Adobe® Acrobat Reader to view.)
2. 2008 Surgical Oncology Fellowship Matching Program [PDF]
3. Current Curriculum Vitae
4. Personal Statement
5. Letters of Recommendation (minimum 3)

For further information regarding the application process, please contact:

Shelly L. Smith
Administrative Manager-Fellowship Coordinator
Fox Chase Cancer Center
333 Cottman Avenue, C-308
Philadelphia, PA 19111-2497
Telephone: 215-728-3097
Fax: 215-728-2773
E-mail: Shelly.Smith@fccc.edu