We have exciting opportunities in the Yale Surgery Department for you to work with Yale surgeons
and residents on clinical research in Surgical Oncology and Robotic-AI Surgery. For the last 2-years,
members of these teams have mentored many Yale premed students who have gone on to be very
successful and get accepted into top medical schools. We enjoy the opportunity to mentor passionate
students like yourself. In addition to gaining valuable experience conducting clinical research, you will be
included on our publications, have potential opportunities to shadow surgeons in the hospital, and many
students have also received letters of recommendation for scholarship and medical school applications.
We are seeking enthusiastic, motivated Yale premed students who can commit 1-2 years, ideally
5-10 hours per week to helping with research (this is very flexible depending on the projects you are
involved with and does not need to include summer if you have other summer plans). This is a voluntary
position although we have had some students continue their research for pay full time after graduation.
No prior research experience is needed and you do not have to be interested in surgery as a specialty or
committed to definitively applying to medical school. Many students have also used their research work
as their senior thesis. All applicants are welcome!
We have two research groups (see below). If you are interested in joining one of these groups,
please email your resume and a brief description of yourself and your interest in this research to the
surgery resident contacts below before April 15th. We ask that you only apply to one of the research
groups. The tentative start date for this research will be mid-June/early July. These Yale surgery
residents are an absolute joy to be around, and they will be spending the next 2 years doing dedicated
research, so they will have many projects for you to potentially get involved with.
Research Groups:
1) AI Robotic Surgery (Resident Contacts: Dr. Nate Sapir [netanel.sapir@yale.edu] and Dr. Rachel
Scheub [rachel.scheub@yale.edu]; Surgical Attending: Dr. Haddon Pantel – colorectal surgeon and
associate program director for Yale surgery residency; Yale Computer Science Lead Investigator:
Professor Daniel Rakita, PhD).
Students in prior years have been involved with the creation of two major AI-object detection models
which were nationally and internationally recognized. In brief, these models allow for the detection of the
inferior mesenteric artery and ureter during robotic-assisted surgeries for low anterior resection and
sigmoid colectomy. Students were able to attend a conference in San Diego where the model was
presented nationally. Students have also been involved with case reports and will have the opportunity to
contribute to new models including AI-object detection of key structures during colorectal surgery and
possibly liver surgery.
2) Surgical Oncology (Resident Contacts: Dr. Robert Tseng [robert.tseng@yale.edu] and Dr. Alex Kim
[alexander.t.kim@yale.edu]; Surgical Attending: Dr. Kiran Turaga – chair of surgical oncology, Yale New
Haven Hospital).
Students in prior years have been involved with developing 2 clinical trials and conducting research on
appendix and colorectal cancer peritoneal surface malignancies such as an AI-based national patient
registry and analysis of ctDNA as a biomarker for surgical eligibility. Additionally, students have also been
involved with projects including mesothelioma mutational profiling on survival and some smaller
projects including case reports and perspective pieces of student-involvement in clinical trial design.
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