Surgery Websites

Alexis Colley

Resident Research Fellow, General Surgery

Why Was I interested in this T32?

The T32 program in Surgical Oncology stood out to me because my research interests integrate well into its three domains. Broadly, I am interested in combining patient-centered outcomes research and medical ethics to improve geriatric surgical care and access to trials. Patient-physician decision-making, and specifically Advanced Care Planning (ACP), is important across all domains of patient care and research in oncology and represents an opportunity to personalize cancer treatment. With an increasing number of aging patients undergoing surgery, it is necessary to include elders in clinical trials in order to understand and meet the needs of this population.

What am I working on in my T32 research project?

I am using implementation science to identify practices to increase uptake of ACP among vulnerable elders undergoing surgery. The first step in understanding how to facilitate the uptake of evidence-based practice into regular use in the realm of ACP is to collect data about what works (and what doesn’t) in our current practices.  We are doing so through qualitative interviews and using these data to build an ACP tool. This work has initiated several publications, which are under review.

I am using translational science to identify the best practices for creating autonomous and ethical informed consent. Working with the IRB Working Group gave me the opportunity to study the serial changes to informed consent and the IRB approval process required for a platform trial. We are also interested in the role of individual and central IRBs within the context of a large, multi-center clinical platform trial.

I am using implementation science to identify practices to increase uptake of ACP among vulnerable elders undergoing surgery. The first step in understanding how to facilitate the uptake of evidence-based practice into regular use in the realm of ACP is to collect data about what works (and what doesn’t) in our current practices.  We are doing so through qualitative interviews and using these data to build an ACP tool. This work has initiated several publications, which are under review.

I am using translational science to identify the best practices for creating autonomous and ethical informed consent. Working with the IRB Working Group gave me the opportunity to study the serial changes to informed consent and the IRB approval process required for a platform trial. We are also interested in the role of individual and central IRBs within the context of a large, multi-center clinical platform trial.

Important lessons I learned from the T32 program and the I2I Leadership course

The T32 Program in Surgical Oncology is a unique opportunity to learn from leaders in medical research, but also from those in business. The I2I curriculum, which has consisted of small group discussions with experts in business and the business of medicine, has been an unprecedented experience for personal and professional growth. Hearing candidly from people who have revolutionized the business of medicine has helped me understand how power is constructed and maintained in a way that would otherwise not have been possible (and is usually not part of traditional surgical research training). 

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