The SCCACS sponsors 3 competitions associated with abstract/manuscript submission along with the opportunity to be considered for the ACS-COT Resident Trauma Paper Competition and the CoC-SCCACS Physician-in-Training Cancer Research Paper Competition. Check the appropriate options on the abstract form for these competitions.
See below details/criteria for the SCCACS competitions:
- Surgeons in Training Research Competition
- “Associate Member” Research Competition
- “Rising Star” Competition
Surgeons in Training Research Competition
- Open to residents/fellows
- Up to 3 cash prizes to be awarded
- Manuscript must be submitted by deadline date (December 22, 2026) to be considered and reviewed*
- Check the competition box on the submission form
- Competition will be among the accepted plenary submissions
- A letter from Program Director is required stating that abstract is primarily the work of, and will be presented by, a resident/fellow
- Awards will be announced at the 2027 SCCACS meeting January 22-24, 2027 in Santa Barbara, CA
“Associate Member” Research Competition
- Competition designed for early career surgeons who have less than six years in practice
- Open to Associate/Initiate Members of the American College of Surgeons (status to be verified). Includes those who will be inducted into the Fellowship of the American College of Surgeons at the Clinical Congress in September 2026.
- 1 cash prize to be awarded
- Manuscript must be submitted by deadline date (December 22, 2026) to be considered and reviewed*
- Check the competition box on the submission form
- Competition will be among all accepted submissions
- Award will be announced at the 2027 SCCACS meeting January 22-24, 2027 in Santa Barbara, CA
“Rising Star” Research Competition
- Open to medical students, undergraduates, and all other healthcare professionals not at the attending/faculty level in any specialty.
- 1 cash prize to be awarded
- Manuscript must be submitted by deadline date (December 22, 2026) to be considered and reviewed*
- Competition will be among all accepted submissions
- Check the competition box on the submission form
- A letter of attestation is required from the PI/mentor for the medical student, undergraduate, or other healthcare professional
- Award will be announced at the 2027 SCCACS meeting January 22-24, 2027 in Santa Barbara, CA
*For Competition and Publication Consideration:
If you are unable to submit your manuscript for competition judging by the designated deadline OR if you have changed your mind about wanting to be considered for publication, please notify SCCACS in writing (by email: socalsurgeons@gmail.com) prior to the manuscript submission deadline. If no submission or notification is received for the competition by the deadline date, it will not be considered for the competition.
Other Competition Considerations:
By submitting an abstract through SCCACS, there is an opportunity to be considered for the ACS-COT Resident Trauma Paper Competition and the CoC-SCCACS Physician-in-Training Cancer Research Paper Competition. Please note that each competition may have eligibility requirements that differ from SCCACS – you should check that you meet their eligibility criteria. You can select these competitions on the abstract form and your submission will be forwarded respectively for consideration for those separate competitions.
Note: Indicating interest in participating in either specialty competitions will not affect the status of your submission to SCCACS. All abstracts will be reviewed independently by the SCCACS Program Committee and considered for presentation.