Residency Match Canada · Program Research Profile
McMaster Plastic Surgery
2026 Match
What the research profiles of this year's 4 incoming residents actually look like, by specialty relevance, authorship position, and research weight, not just publication count.
Program Director: Arianna Dal Cin
4
spots filled this match cycle, up from 3 in 2025. Every stat below describes this full cohort (n=4).
6
avg. confirmed publications
3
avg. first or second authored
0.5
avg. adjacent specialty research
Program context
Source: CaRMS program descriptions
Selection weights
Selection weights not published
What the program says it looks for
- Ranking based on academic record, CV, application, reference strength, and research experience
- Applicants well suited to plastic surgery, with an excellent understanding of what the specialty offers
- Strengths aligned to success in the specialty
- A good fit for a collaborative culture, with commitment to collaboration and patient care
- Willingness to engage in continuous improvement
- A healthy professional and personal balance
Where research appears
Research and publications are evaluated in file review, where candidates are ranked in part on research experience, and scholarly activities are evaluated at interview.
51 to 200
applicants per year
26 to 50%
interview invite rate
About 13 to 100 Estimate only
interviews per year
Estimate calculated as 51 applicants at a 26 percent invite rate to 200 applicants at a 50 percent invite rate. It is not an interview count stated by the program.
Inference, not the program's wording
The program does not publish exact weights, and research has no separate weight. It is named as one of the ranking bases in file review and scholarly activities are evaluated at interview, so it can affect both stages, but no research share can be assigned.
Gaps: The program does not state an interview count, and the CMG stream (quota 3) and IMG stream (quota 1) share the same selection wording and numbers but differ in supporting documentation requirements.
Where this cohort came from
McMaster University
University of Saskatchewan
IMG
3 of 4 residents are Canadian medical graduates and 1 is an International Medical Graduate. Schools are shown as a set only and are not matched to the individual profiles below.
Per resident breakdown
Plastics relevant
Adjacent specialty research
Other medical
0
adjacent specialty research
Both plastics relevant papers are first-authored systematic reviews on core specialty territory. The other three confirmed papers sit in other medical fields. All of the work is analytical or review based rather than new protocols.
Notable: presented research at national and international surgical meetings before matching. Active in peer mentorship and teaching, with leadership roles in student societies.
* Includes 2 papers dated after match day.
0
adjacent specialty research
Every confirmed publication is plastics relevant, the most focused profile in this cohort. The work spans clinical plastics and program level specialty research, all analytical or review based rather than new protocols. Two papers were published after match day and may have been submitted or in progress at the time of application, which is worth keeping in mind when benchmarking against this profile.
Notable: held student leadership roles in a specialty interest group and helped develop educational resources for medical students. Presented most of their published work at conferences.
0
adjacent specialty research
The highest volume in the cohort, with 4 of 8 papers in a first or second position. The 3 plastics relevant papers cover clinical and specialty level topics, while the other 5 sit in other medical fields and include one lab paper likely completed before medical school. None are new protocols.
Notable: presented research at national and international meetings across two distinct academic areas. Co-chaired student interest groups focused on wellness and equity.
2
adjacent specialty research
The most surgically diverse profile in the cohort, with plastics relevant work alongside 2 adjacent specialty papers and 2 from other medical areas. It combines a first-authored case report with retrospective and comparative studies, all analytical rather than new protocols.
Notable: presented research at a national specialty meeting. Authored a set of open-access clinical education resources aimed at junior learners.
Additional items reported in the original research could not be independently confirmed and are excluded from the counts above.
Written descriptions on this page are intentionally general to protect resident privacy. Counts and authorship figures are unchanged.
Reading this data
This cohort averages 6 confirmed publications and 3 in a first or second author position, with every resident having at least 2 plastics relevant papers. Volume alone does not separate them. What does is the shape of the research: PGY1-B has the tightest specialty focus (all 4 papers plastics relevant), while PGY1-C has the highest authorship leadership count (4 of 8 first or second) across a wider range of fields.
None of the 24 confirmed publications across this cohort are new protocols. Every paper is a review, meta-analysis, retrospective study, or survey. An applicant with even one first-authored new protocol in a plastics relevant area would stand out on this dimension relative to this cohort. Program weightings may change from year to year.
All data on this page was gathered from publicly available sources and verified to a high but not absolute degree of confidence. This profile is intended to give prospective applicants a general sense of what previously matched residents looked like, not to serve as a definitive or exhaustive record.
