2016FoM SSRP PROJECT REGISTRATION AND DESCRIPTION FORM
Suggested Deadline to post projects:January 26, 2016
Applications will be accepted from:
Both MD & non-MD Undergraduates
MD undergraduate students only
non-MD undergraduate students only
Project Duration:
Suitable for either a 4 or 8 week project (Only MD 2017 students are eligible to apply for 4-week projects)
Only suitable for an 8-week project
Only suitable for a 4-week project
Additional notes to potential applicants:
PROJECT INFORMATION
Project Title:
Does delay to surgery after neoadjuvant chemoradiation impact clinical and oncological outcomes for rectal
cancer?
Hypothesis or Research Question being addressed:
Many rectal cancers are managed with neoadjuvant chemoradiation prior to surgery. While guidelines
emphasize surgery at 6 weeks after surgery, there is an emerging body of evidence that increasing this time
period from 6 weeks to 8 or 12 weeks may result in better oncological outcomes. We wish to investigate this
hypothesis in our patient population, and also assess if increased delays increase the risk of peri-operative
complications.
Keywords:Provideapproximately 5 key words that describe the proposed research project.
Rectal Cancer, Surgical Oncology, Surgery
PROJECT ATTRIBUTES AND BENEFIT TO THE STUDENT
Please review the online adjudication criteria carefully prior to completing the next two sections to ensure
yourapplication is addressing the adjudication criteria outlined in “Project Attributes and Benefits to the
Student”.
A) Background and Summary of Proposed Research. In the space available, summarize the proposed
project including the rationale for the project, the context within the relevant field of research, the
proposed research approach and the expected project outcomes: (please write in lay terms for a nonspecialist audience)
If this is an ongoing project of >8 weeks duration (or 4 weeks for MD 2017 students) clearly distinguish the expected
project outcomes at the end of the FoMSSRP funding period from the overall project objectives.
450 Word Limit
Many rectal cancers are treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiation prior to surgical treatment.
Guidelines emphasize that surgery is best done 6 weeks after the cessation of neoadjuvant
treatment. There is an emerging body of evidence that delaying surgery to 8 or even 12 weeks, may
result in improved oncological outcomes. We propose to interrogate this claim within our rectal
cancer population at St. Paul's Hospital, British Columbia's only quarternary referral site for
Colorectal Surgery. With an established rectal cancer database, and dedicated research assistants,
we would retrospectively ensure a complete data set, query the database, and liaise with statisticians
to interrogate both short and long-term oncological outcomes, and post-operative clinical outcomes,
and determine if delay to surgery after neoadjuvant radiation impacts these important endpoints.
2016FoM SUMMER STUDENT RESEARCH PROGRAM
B) Outlinethe student’s role in the project and describe how they will benefit from their involvement.
This section must address how involvement in this project will help the student gain an understanding of how
high quality research is conducted. This includes addressing the opportunities to learn new skills in the context
of the relevant learning objectives listed in the online adjudication criteria; their anticipated interactions with
other researchers and the available resources that will contribute to a beneficial experience.
Clearly indicate which items will be completed during the FoM SSRP funding period and which (if applicable) will be
completed before or after the funding period if the student and supervisor have chosen to also work together outside of the
funding period. Project feasibility is considered during the adjudication process; 4-week and 8-week projects will be
adjudicated separately, with appropriate consideration given to each.
550 Word Limit
A motivated student will utilize our pre-existing rectal cancer database. Once the question has been
refined, the student will perform a detailed and thorough literature review. The student will then be
shepherded through the ethics process. The first step from the student will be to validate that all
relevant cases have been included within our database. Subsequently, the data set will be validated
to ensure that all relevant oncological and post-operative outcome data is complete and accurate.
This will be done through querying the hospital medical record, and the surgeons' electronic medical
record. Once this data has been verified and gathered, the database will be utilized to generate a list,
which will then be utilized for data analysis. The student will work with our database manager to
design appropriate queries to generate patient lists. The student will then work with statisticians to
determine appropriate statistical testing, and to do a thorough analysis. Once the analysis is
complete, we will provide support for submitting an abstract to a national meeting, presenting at the
meeting, and developing a manuscript. Position in authorship will be dependent on contribution to the
project/paper.
Please indicate if your project requires the following and indicate their status as appropriate. This will
help clarify the scope of the project for potential student partners.
This project requires ethics approval (human or animal):
Yes
No
If yes please indicate if you:
Already have approval
Will obtain approval before the SSRP funding period
Intend for ethics application to be a focus over the funding period
*Please note that as ethics approval can be a lengthy process it is recommended that this be obtained well in advance of the funding period unless the
intention is for this activity to form a major part of the FoM SSRP-funded portion of the project.
This project requires access to electronic medical records:
Yes
No
If yes please indicate if you:
Already have approval
Will obtain approval before the SSRP funding period
Plan to obtain approval during the SSRP funding period
Research Location (As applicable, indicate where the project will be conducted.)
City or Region: Vancouver, BC
Research Centre: CHEOS
Hospital: St. Paul's Hospital
Program or Unit:Department of Surgery
Additional information (building, lab etc.): Colorectal Surgery
2016FoM SUMMER STUDENT RESEARCH PROGRAM
Supervisor’s Information
Supervisor Last Name:
Karimuddin
Supervisor First Name:
Ahmer
FoM Department/School (Main FoM Appointment):
Surgery
UBC FoM Division (if applicable):
General Surgery
Preferred contact method (for students)
Phone supervisor
Email supervisor
Preferred Phone:
6048068311
Phone alternate contact
Email alternate contact
Secondary Phone:
E-mail Address:
akarimuddin@providencehealth.bc.ca
Optional Alternate Contact(e.g. co-supervisor, research/lab coordinator, assistant etc.)
Contact’s Name:
Contact’s Role:
Contact’s Phone Number:
Contact’s E-mail Address: