Recent News and Announcements from the Society of Surgical Oncology (surgonc.org)

Updated

The Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) has recently published several notable announcements: a strategic partnership with IRCAD North America for hands-on surgical oncology education, a new four-tier international dues structure alongside the launch of a MERIT program for global partner societies, and a series of awards and grants — including the inaugural E. Shelley Hwang Sustainability Excellence Grant, the David L. Bartlett Legacy Award, and a collaborative Young Investigator Award with the Melanoma Research Alliance. These items appear on the SSO homepage news section; details beyond the headlines below are limited to what the site itself states.

Education Partnership: IRCAD North America

SSO announced a strategic partnership with IRCAD North America aimed at advancing hands-on surgical oncology education. The announcement is framed as creating new hands-on education opportunities for the surgical oncology community. If you are looking for practical, skills-based training rather than lecture content, this is the announcement to watch — the site does not yet list specific course dates or eligibility in the excerpt available.

International Membership: Four-Tier Dues and the MERIT Program

SSO has adopted a four-tier international dues structure and launched a MERIT program for global partner societies. For surgeons outside the United States, this signals that membership pricing is now tiered by international category rather than a single rate. The site does not publish the tier amounts or MERIT eligibility criteria in the available text, so check the membership section directly before budgeting.

Awards and Grants Announced

Announcement What it recognizes or supports
E. Shelley Hwang Sustainability Excellence Grant (inaugural) Sustainability excellence — first year of the grant
David L. Bartlett Legacy Award Early-career faculty contributions in education, mentorship, and innovation in advanced cancer therapies
SSO–Melanoma Research Alliance Collaborative Young Investigator Award Collaborative young-investigator research with the Melanoma Research Alliance

These are useful signals for early-career surgeons and researchers: the Bartlett award explicitly targets early-career faculty, and the Young Investigator Award is a joint funding mechanism with a partner organization.

Upcoming Events Tied to These Announcements

The news sits alongside a calendar of SSO events where much of this programming will appear:

  • Fellows Institute 2026 — November 30–December 2, 2026, Houston, TX (co-sponsored by AHPBA and ASBrS)
  • Advanced Cancer Therapies 2027 — February 13–15, 2027, The Scott Resort & Spa, Scottsdale, AZ
  • SSO 2027 Annual Meeting — March 18–20, 2027, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC

The SSO 2027 Annual Meeting program is described as including new educational sessions, disease site–specific content, dedicated programming for advanced practice providers, residents, and fellows, plus expanded networking.

How to Use This Information

  • If you want hands-on training: follow the IRCAD North America partnership announcement for course rollouts.
  • If you are an international surgeon: review the four-tier dues structure and MERIT program before renewing or joining.
  • If you are an early-career faculty member or researcher: the Bartlett Legacy Award and the SSO–MRA Young Investigator Award are the two entries most directly relevant to you.
  • If you are planning your calendar: the three events above are the only dates confirmed on the page; verify registration timelines on each event page.

For full text of any announcement, use the "View More" link in the SSO News section of surgonc.org.