The STS Participant User File (PUF) Research Program allows analysis of national-scale de-identified data from the STS National Database at investigators’ institutions. The PUF Program is unique in many respects and was designed primarily as an option for investigators to pose research questions, quickly obtain quality data, analyze these data themselves, receive feedback, and develop their efforts into abstracts and manuscripts. Read more about the PUF Program.
PUF applications are being accepted for data in the Adult Cardiac Surgery Database, General Thoracic Surgery Database, Congenital Heart Surgery Database, and Intermacs.
To avoid issues with scientific overlap, investigators are highly encouraged to do the following in advance of submitting a proposal:
- Review the list of active STS research proposals from all programs;
- Review the list of recently published STS research studies based on STS National Database data;
- Following review of these pages, share any questions and/or proposed topic of study with Research and Analytic Center staff in advance of submitting a formal PUF application.
Investigators interested in submitting a proposal to the PUF program should also note the following prior to generating a submission:
- NEW - 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.
For more information, contact the STS Research and Analytic Center.
Review the Data Use Agreement and apply now.