Residency Match Canada · Program Research Profile
Western University Plastic Surgery
2026 Match
What the research profiles of this year's 2 incoming residents actually look like, by specialty relevance, presentations, and notable activity, not just publication count.
Program Director: Dr. John Stein
2
spots filled this match cycle, unchanged from 2 in 2025. Every stat below describes this full cohort (n=2).
5.5
avg. confirmed publications
3.5
avg. first or second authored
2
avg. plastic surgery relevant
Program context
Source: CaRMS program descriptions, 2026 R-1 Main Residency Match, first iteration, London site, Canadian medical graduate stream. Paraphrased, not quoted.
Selection weights
Selection weights not published
What the program says it looks for
- Strong academic performance is needed to be considered for an interview.
- All Canadian medical schools are treated equally.
- Selection rests on the CV and the CaRMS application documents.
- The program names research opportunities that build a lasting academic interest among its goals.
- File review looks for evidence of publications or other scholarly work.
- The interview touches on scholarly experience indirectly, through questions about the CV.
Where research appears
In file review and, indirectly, at interview. Residents also complete an annual research project presented at a resident research day, with an optional MSc in Surgery in PGY2.
51 to 200
applicants per year
26 to 50%
interview invite rate
16 to 18
interviews per year, program stated
Inference, not the program's wording
Research has no separate listed weight. It shows up in file review and at interview, inside broader assessments of the whole file. With a mid range invite rate, research could play a part in who is invited, but nothing published shows that research alone decides an interview.
Gaps: selection weights are not published, and applicant and invite figures are ranges, not exact counts.
Where this cohort came from
Dalhousie University
Western University
Both residents in this cohort are Canadian medical graduates. Schools are shown as a set only and are not matched to the individual research profiles below, since with a cohort this small that pairing would make individuals identifiable.
Per resident breakdown
Plastic surgery relevant
Other medical
* Two of the plastic surgery relevant papers were published after match day. These were potentially submitted prior to application.
3*
plastic surgery relevant
All three plastic surgery relevant papers are in specialty journals: a tool validation study on appraising the quality of meta-analyses (Aesthetic Surgery Journal), a rodent model of capsular contracture after breast implants (Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery), and a systematic review of enhanced recovery protocols (Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery). Second author on the first two and third on the review, with no first authored papers. The tool validation study is the closest thing to a new methods contribution in this cohort. The two other medical papers are neurology work on Parkinson's disease and REM sleep behavior disorder (Journal of Parkinson's Disease, Movement Disorders), second and third author.
Notable: undergraduate degree in anatomy and cell biology with a minor in business. No presentations, awards or other activities were found in public sources.
* The plastic surgery relevant paper is dated after match day. It was potentially submitted prior to application.
1*
plastic surgery relevant
Four first authored papers, but only one is in the specialty: an original study in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery linking hand trauma in young patients to later mental health outcomes. The rest span a pediatric cancer registry analysis on income and distance to care (Cancer Medicine), a qualitative global health study from Malawi (International Breastfeeding Journal), and basic science from earlier lab training in radiation biology and zebrafish models (Scientific Reports, eLife). A ninth author systematic review on pain in pediatric arthritis (Pediatric Rheumatology Online Journal) rounds out the record. The mix leans toward original data and basic science rather than reviews.
Notable: MSc in global health and a BSc in biology with honours research in a zebrafish radiation lab. Oral presentation at a medical student research day and a departmental award for best medical student presentation in plastic surgery. Several conference abstracts from the nanoparticle radiotherapy work, including versions of papers later published, and a public data deposit supporting the zebrafish study.
Reading this data
Output is similar in volume across this cohort, 5 and 6 confirmed papers, but the shape is different. PGY1-A has the stronger specialty footprint, with three of five papers in plastic surgery, though always as second or third author. PGY1-B has more first authorship, four papers, but only one sits inside the specialty and most of the rest trace back to earlier science and global health training.
Neither profile rests on a long publication list, and both include substantial work outside the specialty. The specialty papers in the cohort are varied, a tool validation study, an animal model, a systematic review and a clinical study, rather than a run of case reports. Program weightings may change from year to year.
