The Department of Surgery is dedicated to resident research training. Within the department, there are devoted surgical faculty members to mentor resident scientists. Four out of five residents each year pursue two years of dedicated research. Research activities in the department include an array of basic science and translational research, clinical outcomes research, health services research, education research and surgical innovation research.

Resident scientists receive a diverse amount of opportunities. Previous residents have presented at national meetings, received numerous awards and grants for their research work and published their findings in prestigious peer-reviewed journals.

All research residents are eligible for the Physician-Scientist Training Program (PSTP), designed to develop surgical residents into academic clinician-investigators.

Each year, the Department of Surgery showcases outstanding resident research through the Edelstone-Bendix Research Day. This day features a number of presentations by residents and fellows to showcase their work.

The Allen B. Kanavel Surgical Scholars Award is bestowed annually upon surgical research residents who have completed exceptional accomplishments in the laboratory.