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Division of Surgical
Research
The Division of Surgical Research is the central research
resource for all departments in the Section of Surgical
Sciences. Surgical research at Vanderbilt has a long
tradition of excellence. Some of the most significant
advances in surgery have been conducted in the laboratories
of the Section through the investigations and experimental
work of Drs. Barney Brooks, Alfred Blalock, and H. William
Scott, Jr. This tradition continues today as evidenced by
the great number of research programs and the broad scope
and depth of the research effort within the Section.
Ample research opportunities are available to individuals
seeking careers in academic surgery. Most surgical residents
spend a two-year research fellowship in the laboratory
working with established surgical or other faculty
investigators. In addition, the Department of Surgery
emphasizes its serious commitment to the development of
academic surgeons by sponsoring a Ph.D. program in the basic
sciences.
The Division of Surgical Research provides vital
facilities and services for conducting the research programs
of the investigators. It also plays an integral role in
training the research fellows.
The laboratories of the Division consist of 9,000 square
feet of space divided among the individual departmental
laboratories. S.R. Light Laboratory, the largest of these
laboratories, was established at Vanderbilt in 1955 through
the generosity of Dr. S. Rudolph Light of Kalamazoo,
Michigan. This facility contains a 1,500 square foot large
animal operating theater and 700 square feet of pre- and
postoperative areas and instrument rooms with laboratories
for Thoracic and Cadiac Surgery, Urologic Surgery, and
Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation. Recently
constructed laboratory resources of the Division provide
facilities for cellular studies, including tissue culture
and imaging support. Individual and departmental
laboratories are all located close to each other, promoting
interdepartmental exchange of ideas and information.
Additional surgical research laboratories assigned to the
Section totalling over 15,000 square feet are located in
other areas in Medical Center North and the Veterans Affairs
Medical Center Research and Education Facility.
The Division maintains three core laboratory resources
that are extensively used by Section investigators:
- The Analytical and Cell Biology Support Core plays an
integral role in two avenues of research. The facility
maintains analytical instrumentation for investigators
whose research requires monitoring and/or assessing
biochemical parameters. Analytical capabilities include
enzymatic/fluorometric analyses, gas chromatographic/mass
spectrometry, and high pressure liquid chromatography.
Support services for investigators whose research
interest requires molecular and cellular biological
techniques include maintenance of tissue culture
facilities and instrumentation and support for imaging
and morphometric analysis.
- The In Vivo/Metabolic Core provides space,
instrumentation, and personnel support for investigators
conducting whole animal experimentation. This resource
consists of a study room with instrumentation for the
assessment of blood flow and hemodynamic respiratory
monitoring including the determination of Respiratory
Quotient. Ancillary equipment required in these types of
experiments includes centrifuges and pumps.
- The S. R. Light Laboratory Survival Surgical Facility
is an operating theater with ancillary facilities for the
surgical preparation and pre- and postoperative
management of experimental animals. This facility is
appropriately staffed and equipped for the purpose of
assisting investigators whose research protocols involve
surgical intervention.
Additional support services provided by the
Division include administrative support for the preparation
and submission of research proposals and the pre- and
post-administrative management of grants and contracts.
There is a coordinator for the Analytical and Cell Biology
Support Core and a coordinator for the In Vivo/Metabolic
Core.
The research efforts of the departments and investigators
in the Section of Surgical Sciences are a multidisciplinary
collaborative enterprise. The Vanderbilt University and
Veterans Affairs Medical Centers have a large number of
nationally and internationally recognized investigators in
most major areas of biomedical research. This allows
tremendous opportunities for collaborations and the useful
exchange of ideas of surgical investigators with researchers
in other departments. This interdisciplinary collaboration
is reflected in the large number of federally funded program
and center grants.
The Section of Surgical Sciences through the Division of
Surgical Research provides investigators an exciting
environment for scholarly research activities of the highest
quality. Through these resources, both new and established
investigators can expand their research capabilities in
pursuit of greater knowledge. §
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