Biomedical research within the Department of Surgery encompasses opportunities in basic science and clinical research. Positions include standard basic science laboratory practicum for two to-three years with a mentor chosen by the resident in an NIH-funded laboratory. Research cores include cardiac and vascular biology, cancer biology, immunology, wound healing and the systemic response to sepsis, neurotology, shock and trauma, and gastrointestinal disease.
The research mission of the General Surgery Residency Program is accomplished within the context of the University of Rochester's peer review-funded basic science and clinical research programs. The University ranks in the top third of medical schools with NIH peer review grant funding.
The University of Rochester offers exciting research opportunities in addition to excellent clinical training. Whether your interests lie in molecular or cell biology, surgical simulation, resident education, cancer outcomes, population health sciences, systems analysis or any other surgical discipline, we will work together to design a research experience with outstanding mentors. Our goal is for our trainees to be prepared to be the leaders in the next generation of academic surgery.
The research opportunities available for residents during training at the University of Rochester are diverse. Many general surgery residents spend between one and three years of dedicated research time during their residency training between their PGY 2 and PGY3 years, but scheduling of this experience is flexible. While research during surgical residency years is optional, the majority of residents take advantage of the opportunity to expand their academic pursuits for career advancement.
Residents can pursue research opportunities in laboratories in the surgical basic science or other clinical science departments at the University of Rochester. It is important to know that residents are not limited to laboratory work. Many choose to engage in clinical research and participate in the University of Rochester’s Surgical Health Outcomes & Research Enterprise (SHORE) program. Additionally some have chosen to obtain additional advanced degrees such as a Master of Public Health or Master of Science in Clinical Investigation.
A particularly unique resource in our department is the Wilmot Cancer Institute’s Cancer Control and Survivorship Programs led by Gary R. Morrow, Ph.D., M.S., with world-class opportunities for scholarly pursuits to investigate cancer related side effects. The National Cancer Institute awarded $24.8 million to fund Dr. Morrow and is team in their efforts to design and manage clinical studies that will be implemented nationally. Wilmot is one of only two academic cancer centers in the U.S. to be chosen by the NCI as a research hub for the NCI Community Oncology Research Program.
Importantly, funding is available for laboratory expenses and salary for residents during their research years. Many surgical sections have funding to support residents performing specialized clinical and basic science research within their division. As part of their research training, all residents will learn grant writing skills and have the opportunity to present their work at local and national meetings. Residents are also eligible to apply for medical school loan repayment programs through the National Institutes of Health, which may yield an additional $35,000 a year for each spent in laboratory research, in addition to regular salary support.
This year marked the Department of Surgery’s Second Annual Research Symposium in which Gilbert R. Upchurch Jr., MD, our keynote speaker, presented a talk entitled "From Mentoree to Mentor: Academic Lessons Learned Along the Way". His lecture was followed by an abstract competition in which residents presented their research to a panel of peers and a research fair highlighting over 40 poster presentations from the Department of Surgery. Residents whose presentations and posters were awarded the highest scores were given awards.
2019 Awards
2018 Oral Presentation Winners
Basic/Translational
- Bradley Mills, PhD- “Development of a New Strategy to Treat Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer”
Clinical/Outcomes
- Antoinette Esce, BA- “Superior 3-Year Value of Open and Endovascular Repair of AAA with High Volume Providers”
2018 Poster Winners
Basic Science/Translational Poster
- Bart Simon, M.D. “Five-Year Outcomes after Regionalizing Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Centers”
Clinical Science Poster
- Elaa Mahdi, M.D. presented by Anna McGuire, M.D. “Imaging Gently- Computed Tomography Reduction in Pediatric Trauma Patients”
Residents are also free to moonlight during the research years, provided it does not interfere with their research responsibilities.
As Associate Program Director for Research, it is my responsibility to ensure that each resident finds a research opportunity that meets his/her academic and career goals. Towards this end, I meet with each resident early and often during the early years of residency to begin this process and ensure progress.
Peter A. Prieto, M.D., M.P.H.
Director of Research for the Residency Program
Research Residents
Hossein Amirjamshidi, MD
Research Interest
Focus on developing a novel model for harvesting bilateral internal thoracic arteries for coronary artery bypass grafting via a minimally invasive approach.
Alexander Chacon, MD
Research Interest
Basic science and translational research on the role of diet, patient characteristics, and the microbiome on tumor development, tumor immunology, and the response to immunotherapy.
Elizabeth Hedges, MD
Research Interest
Basic science and translational research focusing on adoptive cell therapy in epithelial malignancies as well as clinical trials with the application of adoptive cell therapy in phase I and phase II trials.
Yih-Hsuan Hsu, MD
Research Interest
Surgical health outcomes research centered around patient reported outcomes and barriers to cancer clinical trial accrual.
Katherine Jackson, MD
Research Interest
Basic science and outcomes research centered around surgical oncology and cancer immunology, with a focus on melanoma, breast cancer and hepatobiliary cancers.
Roma Kaur, MD
Research Interest
Surgical health outcomes research focusing on cost-related measures and patient reported outcomes.
Amy Lawrence, MD
Research Interest
Research fellow at Nationwide Children's Hospital, investigating pediatric surgical health outcomes with a focus on appendicitis and ovarian neoplasms.
Elaa Mahdi, MD
Research Interest
Investigating the mechanisms involved in fibrogenesis associated with Biliary Atresia, a leading cause of end stage liver failure in children.
Anna McGuire, MD
Research Interest
Research fellow with the Vascular Anomalies Center at Boston Children's Hospital
Katherine Rosen, MD
Research Interest
Surgical health outcomes research with a focus on long-term functional outcomes following rectal surgery and the use of patient-reported outcomes to optimize the care of patients with benign and malignant colorectal disease.
Luis Ruffolo, MD
Research Interest
Surgical Oncology: Focus on investigating pre-clinical pancreatic adenocarcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma models for the translation of myeloid and effector T cell directed immunotherapy to target the tumor microenvironment in HPB cancers.
Nicholas Ullman, MD
Research Interest
Working to provide translational research from the bench top to the clinic for patients with solid organ tumors; with a specific aim at the dynamic interaction between the tumor microenvironment and the immune system. My current projects include various immunotherapies targeting immunosuppressive macrophages and granulocytes in pancreatic adenocarcinoma as well as cholangiocarcinoma.