TSF/STS Douglas Mathisen Traveling Fellowship in General Thoracic Surgery Grant

The TSF/STS Douglas Mathisen Traveling Fellowship honors Dr. Douglas Mathisen by supporting early-career general thoracic surgeons in their educational pursuits. This fellowship allows recipients to travel for up to four weeks to learn novel techniques and foster collaboration in thoracic surgery. Eligible applicants include North American cardiothoracic surgeons certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery within five years of their first faculty appointment. Awards are $10,000 for domestic and $20,000 for international fellowships.

Created to honor Dr. Douglas Mathisen’s legacy of mentorship and sponsorship of a generation of thoracic surgeons, this award is aimed at facilitating the continuing education of an early career general thoracic surgeon by supporting travel to another institution for up to four weeks for the purpose of learning a novel technique, adapting innovative technology, and/or fostering collaboration between surgical investigators. The applicant must be a cardiothoracic surgeon based in North America who has completed a program leading to certification by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, or who will be certified by the grant start date and who is within 5 years of their first faculty appointment. Awards of up to $10,000 are granted for domestic fellowships for 1 year. Awards of up to $20,000 are granted for international fellowships for 1 year. Only domestic fellowship awards will be granted for 2025.
Purpose
‍The purpose of this traveling fellowship is to facilitate the continuing education of deserving early-career general thoracic surgeons. The award is to be used for international or domestic travel to another institution for up to four weeks for the purpose of learning a novel technique, adapting innovative technology, and/or fostering collaboration between surgical investigators in order to further the progress of general thoracic surgery at the recipient’s home institution. This award can be used for either domestic travel within North America or international travel between North America and Europe. The successful applicant will have a record of excellence in training and academic achievement. He/she will have secured a position at a host institution, and a mentor capable of providing continued growth and development in the realm of general thoracic surgery.
Funding
International fellowship: Awards of $20,000 for up to four weeks will be granted to support a cardiothoracic surgeon for an international fellowship. The first award payment (75%) will be distributed at time of award notification. The second and final grant installment (25%) will be made upon completion of a satisfactory progress report, which will be approved by the TSF Mathisen Award Committee. This award of $20,000 will be used to defray the travel and living expenses for the fellowship period.
Domestic fellowship: Awards of $10,000 for up to four weeks will be granted to support a cardiothoracic surgeon for a domestic fellowship. The first award payment (75%) will be distributed at time of award notification . The second and final grant installment (25%) will be made upon completion of a satisfactory progress report, which will be approved by the TSF Mathisen Award Committee. This award of $10,000 will be used to defray the travel and living expenses for the fellowship period.
Please note that only domestic fellowship awards will be granted for 2025.

Eligibility

The applicant must be a cardiothoracic surgeon based in North America who has completed a program leading to certification by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, or who will be certified by the grant start date and who is within 5 years of their first faculty appointment.
Surgeons who have achieved recognition of achievement in thoracic surgery, and who devote their professional efforts to the subspecialty of general thoracic surgery.
Applicants must have a full and unrestricted license to practice medicine in his or her respective geographic area, and have no action pending which could adversely affect the applicant’s qualification for staff privileges at any hospital.
Applicants must be members or candidate members of STS
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