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Program Description

Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute is one of the few free-standing cancer centers in the United States. Moffitt, a high-volume cancer center, is an NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and one of only 55 nationwide. Moffitt has also received the State of Florida Cancer Center of Excellence Designation. Specific to diseases of the breast, Moffitt’s Comprehensive Breast Program is a Moffitt Center of Excellence and Moffitt’s Diagnostic Breast Radiology is an American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Center of Excellence.

Moffitt Cancer Center’s physical footprint is quickly expanding and touts several locations throughout Tampa Bay and Florida. On the horizon is Speros FL, Moffitt’s 775-acre Global Innovation Center. Speros FL will embody the new digital age of healthcare and serve as a hub for international research and education. It will be Moffitt’s epicenter of innovation and a healthcare think tank where thought leaders from around the globe come together --an anchor where leading-edge medicine, pharma, education, research, commerce and wellness intersect.

In addition to Moffitt’s mission and vision, “To contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer” and “To transform cancer care through service, science and partnership,” education and training are a fundamental part of Moffitt’s core mission. As such, the Moffitt SSO Breast Fellowship is a priority to the institution and the breast faculty with an emphasis on fellow education over service.

The Moffitt Comprehensive Breast Program includes breast surgical oncology and medical oncology faculty. This unique departmental arrangement allows for robust collaboration and patient care among the two disciplines, which provides a fertile ground for Breast Surgical Oncology Fellow development and learning. 

The Moffitt Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship adheres to the SSO Curriculum Guidelines. The two breast fellows complete the one-year fellowship having achieved all the SSO anticipated metrics for graduation.

The breast fellows will primarily spend their time in the conveniently conjoined Moffitt McKinley Outpatient Center and the new Moffitt McKinley Hospital. A quick stroll by the connector bridge between the two buildings allows for efficiency and ease of executing clinical duties.

Moffitt Child Development Center is also located on the McKinley campus, providing convenient access for fellows in need of childcare services. Mother’s Rooms/Lactation Rooms are also available on all campuses.

Protected time for fellow wellness is built into the monthly rotation schedule and various wellness programs are offered through the Moffitt Cancer Center.

Fellow Clinical Experience:

Moffitt’s Comprehensive Breast Cancer Program is a recognized preeminent breast cancer program and serves patients from all over Florida, the United States, and around the globe.

New breast patients to the center apexes at over 3,100 per year—85% breast cancer and 15% undiagnosed or benign breast disease. Surgical caseloads across our eight dedicated, fellowship-trained breast surgical oncology faculty are in the order of 2,900 cases per year. In addition to the large volume of operative cases, fellows are exposed to an expansive breadth of disease presentations and operative interventions from early to advanced stages of breast disease. State-of-the-art technologies/equipment in combination with leading-edge operative techniques are the pillars for the delivery of Moffitt’s compassionate patient care and exceptional patient outcomes.

Of note, fellows receive hands-on exposure to both breast-surgeon-directed oncoplastic surgical techniques and breast ultrasound/biopsies techniques.

Fellows spend the majority of their one-year fellowship on surgical service rotating with all the breast surgical faculty. The remaining months are dedicated to Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Breast Radiology, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Lymphedema/Physical Therapy Clinic, Genetic Counseling and Testing, Palliative Care/Psychosocial Medicine, Integrative Medicine, High-Risk Breast Clinic, Diagnostic Breast Clinic, Community Outreach and Research.

Fellow Research Experience:

Moffitt Breast Fellows have a consistent track record of research publications and presentations at national meetings.

The fellows are assigned research mentors with whom they frequently meet to ensure progress of the research projects.

Multiple Moffitt faculty have peer-reviewed grant support and fellows work alongside faculty in basic science research, translational research, and intra-institutional/multicenter clinical trials.  Fellows have access to immense retrospective tissue and data resources with support from research coordinators, protocol templates, medical editors, and biostatisticians.

Unique to the Moffitt Breast Fellowship is the opportunity for fellows to enter our Physician Scientists Program after the completion of the one-year SSO Breast Fellowship. Here fellows will be under the auspices of their research mentor(s) to gain additional research/biostatistical/educational experience to further propel their career as a surgeon-scientist leader in the sphere of breast cancer care.

Also distinctive to Moffitt is our pioneering research in Artificial Intelligence, Tumor Ablation Programs, and Intra-tumoral Immunotherapy Programs. Many of the tumor vaccine protocols ongoing at Moffitt are home-grown by Breast Program Faculty with intriguing data moving the needle in the right direction in terms of patient outcomes. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02210-0

Conferences:

  1. Weekly didactic sessions by experts in their fields
  2. Monthly Journal Club
  3. Morbidity and Mortality Conference combined with the Moffitt Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship (CGSO) Program
  4. Quarterly Breast Visiting Professor Lecture Series
  5. Weekly institution-wide Grand Rounds

Eligibility: 

  1. Before matriculation into the Moffitt Breast Fellowship, applicants must complete their residency training in general surgery in an accredited program in the United States or Canada.
  2. Applicants must be eligible or certified by the American Board of Surgery or equivalent certifying body.
  3. Applicants must be able to obtain an unrestricted Florida Medical License to practice general surgery.
  4. Applicants must be US citizens or permanent US residents (green card holders). Our program only sponsors H1B visas.
  5. Moffitt Cancer Center participates in the SSO Fellowship Match—please refer to the SSO website for application details and timeline.

Number of Appointed Fellows:  2 per academic year

Fellowship Duration: 1 year

Contact Information:

Education Coordinator
Jamie Harrington
Jamie.Harrington@moffitt.org

 

Training Program DirectorSusan Hoover, MD

Susan Hoover, MD, FACS, FSSO 
Moffitt Cancer Center  
10900 N. McKinley Drive
Tampa, FL 33612
Phone: 813-745-0589
Fax: 813-449-6943

 

Associate Program DirectorBrian Czerniecki, MD, PhD

Brian Czerniecki, MD, PhD
Moffitt Cancer Center  
12902 USF Magnolia Drive
Tampa, FL 33612
Phone: 813-745-7575
Fax: 813-745-7287