Department of Surgery

e-mail: Suellen P. Ferraris, Ph.D.
Tel:(859) 323-1336
Fax:(859) 257-4682

See Curriculum Vitae

Suellen Ferraris, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Graduate School
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO

Fellowship
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO

Research Interests
 Aspirin Related Gene Expression
Excessive postoperative bleeding has been correlated to man factors including aspirin ingestion before operation. In fact, many surgeons prefer not to operate on patients unless they have not had aspirin within a week of surgery. A certain percentage of the general population is classified as hyperresponders to aspirin. this means their bleeding times are severely prolonged after aspirin ingestion compared to the rest of the population. Another subset of the population is classified as nonresponders. These individuals show no change in bleeding times with aspirin ingestion. Taking one aspirin a day for  a heart condition would only expose them unnecessarily to any negative side effects. Currently hyperresponders and nonresponders can only be identified by performing a bleeding-time test on subjects who have taken aspirin. Because there are significant variations in response to aspirin, we hypothesize that aspirin alters gene expression and that this alteration accounts for different clinical responses to aspirin. The goal of this study is to identify types of responders to aspirin by use of the bleeding-time test to determine changes in gene expression for hyperresponders compared to normal responders. Any information which would help to understand the mechanism of aspirin sensitivity would ultimately have a positive impact on the treatment and outcomes of patients.