Achievements & innovations in research

SURGERY RECEIVES NIH T32 RESEARCH TRAINING GRANT: The Department of Surgery is pleased to have been awarded an NIH T32 training grant to support our surgical resident research training program. The five-year grant will provide stipend and research funds for residents during their two-year research assignments (PI - Stephen M. Cohn, MD, Chair). Of the 248 U.S. surgical residency training programs, the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio's general surgery research residency program is one of only 33 to have received NIH T32 funding. (1-22-08)

Renata Bastos, MD, Cardiothoracic Surgery: 15K discretionary grant from the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research to perform a pilot study entitled 'Development of an off-pump coronary artery bypass in non-human primates to evaluate the effect of Botox on the flow of arterial grafts.' (2-13-08)

Department of Surgery experiences growth in research funding: From 2006 to 2007, Surgery research awards increased by 8 percent; during the same timeframe, the department's total research costs, including indirect costs, have increased 26 percent. (1-15-08)

Maureen Sheehan, MD, Vascular Surgery, on her 15K research award from the Society for Vascular Surgery for her project, "Utility of infrared spectroscopy to detect and monitor peripheral arterial disease in vascular surgery." (10-5-07)

Luis Angel, MD, Cardiothoracic Surgery and Pulmonary Medicine, on his award for lung transplant research from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park, California, for the Barbara Melikan Lung Transplantation Research Fund. (9-11-07)

Dr. Paula Shireman, who has received NIH bridge funding for her "Chemokines and Immune Cells in Hind Limb Ischemia" research. (9-11-07)

Paula K. Shireman, MD, and her research team on receiving $550k VA Merit Review grant funding for research costs and staffing through 2011 for "Macrophage Regulated Muscle Regeneration: Fat Deposition and Function." (8-2-07)

Carlo Martinez, MD, research resident on NIH acceptance of his NHLBI fellowship application for 'Angiogenesis, macrophages, and tissue recovery from injury'. Dr. Martinez will be working with Paula Shireman, MD, Vascular Surgery. (7-3-07)

Thelma Hurd, MD, Associate Professor in the Surgical Oncology Section, general & laparoendoscopic surgery, has been awarded $250,000 from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation for her project titled 'Integrating Health Literacy and Community Based Education to Improve Breast Health Among Hispanics.' This project will develop and pilot Esperanza y Vida, a novel, culturally relevant breast cancer education program in a south Texas community with the goals of improving health literacy and increasing breast cancer screening rates. A potential outcome of this program is the enhanced understanding of the relationship between health literacy, community based education, and determinants of cancer screening in both the male and female Hispanic populations. The ultimate goal is to increase screening utilization, promote guideline concordant screening health behaviors and reduce breast cancer mortality among Hispanic women in south Texas.

Howard Tzu Wang, MD, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, has received a one-year grant for $35,555 from the ERC for his submission, "Tissue culture of pre-adipocyte precursor for reconstruction of calvarial defects." Dr. Wang's funding begins July 1, 2006.

Paula Shireman, M.D., and Oscar Ochoa, M.D., have been awarded supplemental funding under Dr. Shireman's NIH-NHLBI RO1 entitled "Chemokines and immune cells in hind limb ischemia." This funding will provide for Dr. Ochoa's two year resident research fellowship.
Total funding: $146,000 over two years.

NIH research funding for US medical schools (2005):

UTHSCSA is ranked 53rd in a field of 123 NIH-funded U.S. medical schools.
Click here to view NIH 2005 Medical School Award Rankings

UTHSCSA is the only tier one research university in South Texas.

Our liver transplant program is ranked 9th largest and most successful in the nation.

The Palmaz Stent, developed by former Department of Surgery faculty member Dr. Julio Palmaz, has been named "one of ten patents that changed the world."

UTHSCSA is currently conducting the largest study of congestive heart failure in America.

Our university is the chief catalyst for the nearly $14 billion biosciences and health care industry in San Antonio, and contributes nearly $1 billion annually to the South Texas economy.

Faculty & Staff Research Awards - NIH-funded research in the Department of Surgery:

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