Do you have a good idea for a research project, but lack the patient volume or
tissue samples to reach your goals in a timely fashion? 

Do you have a treatment/care strategy that you think will improve quality or save costs? 

Do you have interest in a rare tumor or clinical condition? 

Present your proposal at the 2024 HAGO Market Place of Ideas
We are continuing with this forum, introduced in 2023, in which researchers can present project ideas that require (or benefit from) the collaboration of like-minded team players to increase the power of their research.  Selected proposals will have the opportunity to present their projects in poster form during an interactive session of this year’s meeting.  Up to 5 researchers with exceptional ideas will be selected to “pitch” their proposals to the audience in 5-minute lightning presentation styles.

SUBMIT NOW

FAQs
Do I need to have funding?
No, but feasibility and costs will be factors that your potential collaborators will be considering

Can a fellow or resident apply?
Yes, but remember that “real-life” timelines are often longer than “planned” timelines

What do I need to do?
Submit an abstract that includes:

· Background

· Hypothesis

· Design

· Timeline

· Request: (your expectations from collaborators and how you will share data/authorship)

When is the deadline to submit?
The deadline for submission is July 1, 2024

Submission Examples

Example #1
Background: Aggressive angiomyxoma (AA) is a rare tumor that can affect the vulva or paravaginal tissues. The current standard of care is complete resection, but recurrence is common. The standard of care for follow-up and treatment of recurrence has not been established.

Hypothesis: H1 Regular imaging improves the detection of recurrence H2 Re-excision of recurrent AA results in long term remission. 

Design: This will be a retrospective chart review of all patients treated for AA including primary surgical and medical treatments, surveillance strategy and secondary treatments. Sample size will be determined by the available number of charts. Primary endpoint will be PFS after primary surgery stratified by surveillance strategy. Secondary endpoints will be PFS 2 (after recurrence), OS, and multivariate analysis of risk factors. Analysis will be by x 2 , t-test and multi-variable regression.

Timeline: 8 months (2 months IRB/ 3 months data abstraction / 2 months data analysis and abstraction)

Funding: None

Request:
IRB application, patient identification, data abstraction and de-identification, manuscript review and approval. Authorship will be assigned by number of cases submitted.

Example #2
Background: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols have been demonstrated to improved time to discharge and return to work without significant detriment to patient well-being following gynecologic cancer surgery. The specific elements and number of elements that comprise a successful ERAS program remain unclear.

Hypothesis: H1: A program that incorporates a strict seven-element ERAS protocol (pre-operative teaching, no bowel prep/fasting, regional anesthesia, fluid restriction, opioid reduction, early ambulation, early feeding) will have a reduction length of stay (LOS) compared to a program that standardly includes only 2 of these elements (pre-operative teaching and regional anesthesia).

Design: Prospective, multi-institutional, randomized trial comparing “simple” and “intense” ERAS programs. We estimate 102 patients undergoing planned laparotomy for gynecologic cancer will be required to detect a difference of 1 day reduction in our primary endpoint, median LOS, when compared to a simple ERAS approach. Secondary endpoints will be: hospital and 30 day complication rates, protocol compliance rate, time to return work/normal activity, and time to treatment where appropriate.

Timeline: 24 months (3 months IRB, 15 months trial enrollment, 6 months data collection analysis, and writing)

Funding: This project is supported by an SGO young investigator grant which supports the PI salary and a statistician, there is no per capita re-imbursement but a small amount of start up fee for up to 4 collaborating institutions.

Request: Collaborators will be required to advance the protocol through the IRB, identify appropriate anesthesia colleagues to ensure maximal compliance, monitor and collect study end points on ongoing basis, manuscript approval.