The General Surgery Clinical Research Program is a comprehensive program that supports every aspect of clinical research conduct. The program assists investigators in protocol development and grant submissions for competative clinical research grants. The program works in conjunction with pharmaceutical and device companies to conduct industry clinical trials. The program supports Regulatory (IRB and other regulatory agencies), Administrative (Budget and contracts) and Clinical (patient enrollment and management and data collection) components. The program includes a 24 hour/day and 7 day/ week on call staff to support after hours activities.
The staff of the General Surgery Clinical Research Program includes a director (Pharm.D.) and two critical care trained research nurses and a staff of 5 on call research nurses. In addition, the program consists of all of General Surgery Faculty members.
The program areas of focus include Trauma/Critical Care, Surgical Oncology and Vascular specialties. Collectively, the staff have over 20 years of experience in the clinical trial management and have worked very successfully with many pharmaceutical sponsors and device companies.
BASIC SCIENCE
The basic science research program in the Division of General Surgery is in a well-equipped and staffed cellular and molecular laboratory with powerful collaborations and related core facilities. A full-time Laboratory Director with brood training and experience in cellular and molecular biology and immunology supports faculty investigators, residents and medical and undergraduate students in bench and translational projects. Active collaboration occurs with the Departments of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Pathology and Public Health. Conference, seminars and training programs are available through these collaborations and formal course-work is available within the College of Medicine and College of Allied Health. Core facilities with adjacency to the General Surgery Research Program include mass spectroscopy, flow cytometry, electron microscopy and bioinformatics. The Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS link here) is an enterprise-wide support infrastructure for investigators committed to translational science and career development and a Masters Degree Program in Clinical and Translational Science is to be offered. Current funded projects in the General Surgery Research Program are focused on alterations in T-cell signal transduction in trauma, surgery and stress, the effects of transfusion on cellular immunity, surgical nutrition and the microbiology of hospital-acquired pneumonia. Opportunities for resident research fellowships exist, funding sources are available and independent investigation by both faculty and residents is encouraged.
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