Global Surgery Fellowship | UC Davis Health

Our mission is to train future leaders in global surgery research, capacity building, and quality improvement. The UC Davis Global Surgery Research Fellowship is a one-year program intended for surgery and anesthesia residents who are interested in exploring careers focused on improving surgical care in low- and middle-income countries (LIMCs). Residents enrolled in UC Davis training programs or from LMICs are encouraged to apply.

The program provides a comprehensive curriculum that includes mentorship in career development and comprehensive training in key research areas relevant to global surgery research, such as methodologies, grantsmanship, and ethical conduct of global research. Furthermore, fellows will have the opportunity to participate in clinical, research, and surgical education initiatives within our network of international collaborators.The fellowship program is individualized to support each participant’s unique career goals and presents an excellent avenue for aspiring global surgery professionals to build their knowledge, skills, and expertise in this exciting and rapidly evolving field.

The UC Davis Global Surgery Research Fellows are provided support in various areas including:

• Mentorship from UC Davis Center for Global Surgery faculty members
• Training program curriculum based on the UC Davis Global Surgery competency framework
• Tailored involvement opportunities within the UC Davis Global Surgery community to enhance their learning, build experience, and participate in global surgery projects
• Opportunities to increase the visibility of their work
• Access to a worldwide network of colleagues, mentors, and mentees

Fellows will base their year around designing and carrying out a global surgery research project. They will play key roles in the ongoing projects and activities of the UC Davis Center for Global Surgery. The fellowship is broadly structured as follows:

• 1 year duration
• Non-ACGME
• Cohort of 1-2 fellows per year
• Weekly meeting with fellowship director
• Regular meetings with members of research and clinical mentorship team
• Monthly Fellows Seminar provided by UC faculty, international guest speakers, and collaborator lectureships
• Research training curriculum with regular didactics on global surgery ethics, statistics, and research methodology, accompanied by key reading assignments
• Quarterly Journal Club and monthly works-in-progress meetings

Patrick J. Sur, M.D., M.P.H., is a fourth-year General Surgery resident at UC Davis Medical Center, grew up in Torrance, CA, and is the youngest of four siblings. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology from UC Santa Barbara, a Master of Public Health in Global Health with an emphasis in Health Metrics and Evaluation from the University of Washington, and his Medical Degree from UC Riverside School of Medicine.

Before medical school, Patrick Sur worked as an epidemiologist at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He focused on the Global Burden of Disease Study, analyzing and quantifying health loss over time globally. Specifically, he worked on the Risk Factors Team, quantifying the health loss attributable to obesity, physical inactivity, and an unhealthy diet. This work allowed him to build relationships within organizations like the World Health Organization, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and country collaborators, with the most significant experience being with the Nepal Health Research Council in Kathmandu.

After starting medical school, Patrick Sur discovered his interest in Surgery and pursued opportunities to combine it with his background in Global Health. He worked with the Program for the Advancement of Surgical Equity at UCLA to strengthen trauma systems development in Uganda and Cameroon. With these experiences, he gained a deeper appreciation for the challenges associated with providing high-quality surgical care in resource-poor settings.

As a UC Davis Global Surgery Fellow, Patrick Sur aims to identify global surgical capacity disparities with the mentorship of faculty in the Department of Surgery and Center for Global Surgery. He aims to focus on Abdominal Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery, comparing mature Transplantation Systems to those being built in lower resource settings to identify essential components for efficient and ethical solid organ transplantation.

Fellowship start: July of each calendar year (12 months).
Dates for the upcoming application cycle will be announced soon!
Please submit application material and any question to globalsurgery@ucdavis.edu.

1.  Please submit CV
2. Personal Statement (Do not exceed 1000 words)

• Please describe career goals relative to global surgery.
• Describe previous involvement with relevant coursework, clinical work, research, program, or policy development.
• Describe your interest in mentored research training and how you will benefit from the fellowship.
• Provide an outline of career development plan, including expected courses and mentoring plan.

3. Research Proposal (Do not exceed 1000 words)

• Please provide a concise overview of a global surgery research proposal, which should include the goal or hypothesis, aims, and a summary of the methodological approach. Additionally, please outline a timeline indicating what you intend to achieve within 12 months, and explain the feasibility of the study with the timeframe provided.