Loma Linda University Health

Program Director: Mark Reeves, MD, PhD

Loma Linda University Health (LLUH) is a world-renowned non-profit academic health sciences center serving the inland empire of Southern California and the surrounding area since 1905. The Loma Linda University Cancer Center (LLUCC) is a Commission on Cancer accredited cancer program and a tertiary and quaternary referral center. LLUCC physicians treat complex and challenging neoplasms, integrating clinical research and state of the art cancer care customized to an individual patient’s needs. In addition, LLUCC researchers have revolutionized cancer care in several areas benefiting hundreds of thousands of patients. Innovation, research and compassionate delivery of care with an emphasis on whole-person care that addresses the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of a patient have led to LLUH’s recognition as a leader in the field of cancer care.

The combination of compassionate physicians dedicated to cancer care, education, innovation and research and an institution that strives to improve all aspects of patient care, training and research make it an ideal setting for educating surgeons interested in pursuing further training in cancer surgery. The core faculty members of the Complex General Surgical Oncology fellowship at LLUH are respected educators in their fields of specialty for many years and have proven track records for their commitment to education, research and mentoring. The fellowship is designed to provide training, skills, and knowledge for the fellows to become expert surgical oncologists with strong research backgrounds. The Complex General Surgical Oncology fellowship at LLUH is one of several ACGME training programs in oncology at LLUH, including a Medical Oncology fellowship, Radiation Oncology residency, Gynecologic Oncology fellowship, and Hospice/Palliative Medicine Fellowship.

About the program

The LLUH Complex General Surgical Oncology fellowship program is a two-year post-residency training program and accepts one fellow per year. During the first year, fellows spend five months dedicated to research and a month each in medical oncology, radiation oncology, surgical pathology, and head and neck surgery. They also spend 2 weeks in an elective dedicated to each fellow’s interest. The rest of the 14.5 months of training is spent in the core surgical oncology rotations. Training includes comprehensive management of melanoma, sarcoma, hepatobiliary, pancreatic, colorectal, breast, endocrine, esophageal, lung, complex pelvic and peritoneal surface malignancies.  Fellows are also trained in minimally invasive, robotic cancer resections. For information please visit our program page – Home (llusurgonc.org).

Research opportunities

Fellows have ample opportunity to pursue clinical and basic science research. Fellows are able to identify mentors based on their research interests. Dedicated research time is scheduled at the beginning of fellowship to allow fellows to start several research projects and continue their research activities throughout their two-years of training.

Meeting and Conferences

The fellowship offers multiple educational conferences with strong faculty participation. Fellowship curriculum includes weekly morbidity and mortality conference, surgical grand rounds, surgical oncology case conference, journal club, and weekly didactic lectures. In addition, fellows participate in and lead rotation- specific multidisciplinary tumor board conferences (breast, GI, melanoma, thoracic, head and neck).

Eligibility and Applications

The program participates in the fellowship match through NRMP annually and accepts one fellow per year. Applications must be submitted through ERAS. Prior to appointment in the program, the fellows must meet the following:
• Satisfactory completion of a general surgery residency program accredited by ACGME or general surgery residency program located in Canada accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
• Be certified or admissible to examination by the American Board of Surgery

Contact Information