Aesthetic Research Community Print

 

Do You Have a Great Research Idea?

Share. Connect. Launch.

What is the Aesthetic Research Community?

  • Network of Aesthetic Surgeons willing to share ideas and collaborate on research
  • Source for aesthetic surgery research guidance

Who may participate?

  • Aesthetic Society and ASERF members, Candidates for Membership, and Residents

How do I join and share my ideas?

 

Our Vision for the Aesthetic Research Community (ARC)

In 2020, nearly 4 million cosmetic procedures were performed in the United States. Countless other potential patients sought consultation. Clinicians in our specialty have accumulated a vast knowledgebase of patient experiences including optimal and less than optimal outcomes, surgical and anesthetic complications, need to alter a treatment modality or the need for innovative new techniques to improve results. Many of these cases were performed in an ambulatory surgical center or in private practice offices without a connection to a research or academic facility.  As a result, these experiences are not shared with the plastic surgery community.

Busy clinicians want to learn from the experience of others, and many would like to share their experiences and observations as well. Unfortunately, time constraints, insufficient “numbers” and/or the lack of knowledge to organize data into an actual research study, culminating in submission to a scientific journal, can be overwhelming. 

The Aesthetic Research Community (ARC) was specifically developed by The Aesthetic Surgery Education and Research Foundation (ASERF) to help its members overcome these obstacles in an easy, friendly way and, specifically, to allow individuals with similar research ideas to communicate directly with one another to discuss, refine and develop topics, hopefully culminating in a solid research idea and well-written scientific paper.

This Community is overseen by a committee organized to help connect individuals with similar interests and ideas. The ARC team also offers guidance on common issues the members face when developing a research project or writing a scientific paper.  The initial research project idea is collected through a brief electronic form. The ARC team will function as an intermediary to connect interested parties who are “matched” with similar interests.

ARC users will have the opportunity to interact with ASERF committee members who will help individuals refine their project and advise on such matters as to how to obtain an IRB, access a statistician or obtain a research grant, and provide information on how to use the right framework to write and publish a scientific paper. 

Eventually, the ARC will be a source of research guidance to anyone interested in aesthetic surgery research such as medical students, residents, academic institutions, and related core specialties. 

The technical aspects of the ARC will be enhanced overtime to streamline the interactive aspects of the process. Input from users will be continually evaluated in the future development and expansion of ARC.