PLEASE NOTE:

Your PUF Application must be completed in one session. Partially completed applications will not be saved in the system; if you close your browser before submitting your PUF Application, your work will be lost.

Before you begin filling out the PUF Application form below, please ensure that you have checked our Current Projects and Published Research webpages for overlap with your proposal, familiarized yourself with the PUF Program Description, and gathered the required information and files. Some of the items you will need include:

1) STS National Database Participant ID - 5-digit number corresponding to the affiliated participant in the Adult Cardiac (ACSD), General Thoracic (GTSD), or Congenital Heart (CHSD) surgery databases; or the 4 letter code in case of STS Intermacs/Pedimacs database participants;
2) Principal Investigator contact information and biosketch;
3) Study Statistician information and biosketch;
4) File identifying any Co-Investigators and providing their contact information;
5) File with proposal Research Plan; and
6) Completed Variable File that corresponds to your study. (Select the Adult Cardiac Variables File (3.13.23), the General Thoracic Variables File (1.12.24), the Congenital Heart Variables File (1.12.24), Intermacs Variables File (12.13.24) or Pedimacs Variables File (12.13.24). Next, mark with an “X” in column A next to each variable you want included in your data file, save the file starting with PI initials, and then upload in the corresponding section of the application below.)

Note: The Data Analytic Center for Intermacs/Pedimacs proposals derives many variables (i.e. intervals, indicators, etc.) to facilitate the analytical process for researchers requesting PUF files. To request a variable marked as PHI (e.g. death date, implant date, follow-up date, etc.), please refer to the "Derived Variables" worksheet, ordered by the research dataset (Device, Patient, Follow-up, Events) containing each variable, within the PUF Selection spreadsheet. Carefully review the variables of interest, referencing the "Guidance" column as necessary, before choosing your PUF variables.

For information about codes and values for each data variable in the final PUF sent to investigators, please visit the following links:

Adult Cardiac: Adult Cardiac Surgery Database Data Collection
General Thoracic: STS General Thoracic Surgery Database
Congenital Heart: STS Congenital Heart Surgery Database
Intermacs:
- Intermacs Users Guide
- De-identified Intermacs Data Set
Pedimacs:
- Pedimacs Users Guide
- De-identified Pedimacs Data Set

PUF FEES

A $500 application fee is required to process your PUF request. You will be directed to the payment site after submitting your completed application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Final PUF study fees are primarily driven by the volume of data received by investigator (PUF size). These fees will generally range from $4,500 to $9,500; please refer to Exhibit C of the Data Use Agreement for additional information.

Webform

I am aware of and have reviewed the STS Research and Analytic Center’s list of Current Projects and Published Research web pages.

NOTE: Proposal submissions focused on Volume-Outcome relationships research will no longer be considered via the PUF program. Investigators interested in Volume-Outcomes analyses must submit a proposal via the Access and Publications (A&P) or Task Force on Funded Research (TFR) programs.

Additionally, the STS RAC is not currently accepting new Adult Cardiac proposals focused on Acute Type A Aortic dissection (ATAAD) due to numerous current projects and recently published manuscripts on this topic. Formal updates will be shared when consideration of ATAAD proposals resumes.

Project Title:

Investigative Team

Principal Investigator

First Name:

Middle Initial/Name:

Last Name:

Degree (e.g., MD, PhD):

Title:

STS Participant ID#:

5-digit number corresponding to the affiliated participant in the Adult Cardiac (ACSD), General Thoracic (GTSD), or Congenital Heart (CHSD) surgery databases; or the 4 letter code in case of STS Intermacs/Pedimacs database participants. ID provided must correspond to the specific STS ND specialty Registry that will be used in the research proposed by the investigative team; e.g. General Thoracic Surgery proposals should provide an ID corresponding to the GTSD.

Institution:

Address 1:

Address 2:

City/Town:

State/Province:

Zip/Postal Code:

Business phone:

Home phone:

Cell Phone:

PI E-mail:

Confirm PI E-mail:

Contact Person:

Contact Phone:

Contact E-mail:

Confirm Contact E-mail:

PI Biosketch Upload (2 pages - NIH format preferred):

One file only.
4 MB limit.
Allowed types: pdf, doc, docx.

Study Statistician¹

First Name:

Middle Initial/Name:

Last Name:

Degree (e.g., PhD, ScD, MS, MPH):

Title:

Institution:

Study Statistician E-mail:

Confirm Study Statistician E-mail:

Statistician Biosketch Upload (2 pages - NIH format preferred)

One file only.
4 MB limit.
Allowed types: pdf, doc, docx.

Other Investigators

Co-Investigators:

Yes (upload file with co-investigator info: full name, degree, institution, contact details; e.g. emails)

None

Co-Investigators List Upload:

One file only.
4 MB limit.
Allowed types: pdf, doc, docx.

¹A PhD level study statistician is typically required by STS for PUF requests, unless otherwise authorized by the PUF Task Force.

PUF Research Project Information

Select Database

Adult Cardiac Surgery Database

General Thoracic Surgery Database

Congenital Heart Surgery Database

Intermacs Database

Pedimacs Database

Data Requested - Start Date:

Data Requested - End Date:

Investigators must provide a full list of requested data fields based on the applicable STS National Database - Data Collection Form (Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (3.13.23), General Thoracic Surgery Database (1.12.24), Congenital Heart Surgery Database (1.12.24), Intermacs Database (12.17.24) or Pedimacs Database 12.17.24).

Variable List Upload:

One file only.
10 MB limit.
Allowed types: xlsx, xls.

PUF Research Study Plan

All applications must be accompanied by a concise, informative Research Plan that will be reviewed by the STS Research and Analytic Center staff, assigned reviewers, and PUF Task Force chairs and members. The Research Plan should generally adhere to the following format:

Research Plan (5-6 pages)

1. Study Background
2. Overview - Hypothesis/Aim
3. Study Plan/Approach
     3.1   Study Patients
        3.1.1   Study Inclusion Criteria
        3.1.2   Study Exclusion Criteria
     3.2   Statistical Methods
     3.3   Timetable for Executing the Study²
     3.4   Dissemination Plans³

²After receiving the data file, a 3- to 6-month suggested timeline is recommended for completion of PUF analyses, depending on scope and complexity. If a PUF analysis is not completed within 6 months, then the PUF Task Force may approve a similar or closely related PUF proposal submitted by other investigators.

³STS strongly suggests that the investigators target the STS Annual Meeting and The Annals of Thoracic Surgery as the meeting and publication forums, respectively, for dissemination of PUF-based research. If PUF research output is presented at the STS Annual Meeting, then the STS Board of Directors or Executive Committee may waive the requirement that it be published in The Annals in exceptional circumstances.

Research Plan Upload:

One file only.
20 MB limit.
Allowed types: pdf, doc, docx.

To complete your application, please click "Submit."

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PUF Application

Investigative Team

Principal Investigator

Study Statistician1

Other Investigators

PUF Research Project Information

PUF Research Study Plan

Study Statistician¹