Expanding the Surgical Clinical Trials Workforce Through Structured Undergraduate Research Programs

Clinical trials are essential to evidence-based medicine, yet they remain underrepresented in surgical literature. Academic medical centers are well-positioned to address this gap by engaging undergraduate students in surgical trial design. We propose a structured framework for integrating students into surgical trial teams. Undergraduate offer strengths in scheduling flexibility and strong motivation; meanwhile, their firsthand involvement provides meaningful research and clinical exposure not captured in traditional opportunities. We outline strategies to address anticipated implementation barriers, including supervised AI-assisted onboarding to reduce mentor burden and a tiered engagement model that preserves regulatory safeguards. Finally, we describe a course-based pipeline being piloted at Yale-New Haven Hospital that connects students and research faculty with prospective measures of feasibility and success defined by tangible research output and student engagement metrics. By investing in undergraduates' integration into surgical trials, academic institutions can enrich students' professional development while strengthening research infrastructure needed to advance surgical innovation.