Opportunities for Students  Research
Several laboratories within the Department of Surgery open their doors to medical students seeking experience in surgical research. To learn more about work in a specific laboratory, contact the lab using the information below.
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Dr. Argenziano's laboratory focuses on two main areas of research.
Our first line of work involves both basic science and clinical research into minimally invasive and robotic approaches to cardiac surgery.
Techniques are first developed in large animal models and then translated directly into human application.
Work in this area has been used in several FDA-sponsored clinical trials including the robot-assisted, totally endoscopic atrial septal defect repair trial for which we were the lead center. Our second focus is on the surgical treatment of arrhythmias, particularly atrial fibrillation. Again research in this area combines basic science work in large animals with a growing clinical database and has enabled us to become a national presence in the field.
We have a long, successful track record working with P&S students.
Our laboratory conducts studies in experimental animals (pigs, rats) and humans.
We have an NIH grant to study the effects of surgery for congenital heart disease on cardiac structure and function assessed before, during, and after surgery.
We have applied to NIH to study biventricular pacing for reversal of heart failure after cardiac surgery.
Other research topics of interest to our lab include myocardial edema, drugs for myocardial protection during ischemia, and ventricular remodeling.
Techniques we employ that have been learned by P&S students include analysis of ventricular function by echocardiography, use of aortic flow probes and micromanometers, analysis of myocardial edema, and studies of diastolic compliance.
We are also interested in clinical issues related to pacemaker and defibrillator implantation.
We try to work with students to find areas of mutual interest and define projects that can be completed during a summer elective, hopefully leading to publication.
Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation
The CLDT is a multidisciplinary program involved in the treatment of liver disease in adults and children.
Faculty from the Departments of Surgery, Pediatrics, Gastroenterology, Psychiatry, and Anesthesiology are all represented in the CLDT.
Opportunities for medical students include clinical research in liver disease and/or liver transplantation, hepatobiliary surgery, pediatric liver disease, and transplant psychiatry.
Basic science lab experience is also available for interested students, in the areas of liver regeneration, tumor biology, and ischemia/reperfusion injury.
A two month rotation on the service can be individually designed based on the student's long term goals and interests.
The goal of the two month student research fellowship is to develop skills in basic design and implementation of research projects, including formulating a hypothesis, experimental design, organization and completion of a project, writing and presentation skills, and ultimately publication of a manuscript in a peer reviewed journal.
 Pediatric Surgery
Our lab is very new and we are dealing with the genetics of diaphragm development.
Specifically we are interested in examining the role of certain angiogenic genes in the normal development of the diaphragm.
Our clinical interest is in Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. Before we can study abnormal diaphragm development we must first study normal diaphragm development.
Currently we are employing immunohistochemistry techniques. Students will be working side by side with our PhD tech and our second year neonatology fellow.
Students are welcome to attend all clinical conferences in the division of pediatric surgery and scrub on cases when the time permits.
Surgical Immunology
Our laboratory is focused on the development of recombinant vaccines for the treatment and prevention of cancer.
This is being explored using transgenic mice expressing human tumor antigens and through clinical vaccine trials for patients with cancer.
A major goal of the lab is to determine how immune responses are generated in cancer patients and learn how to manipulate these responses for the purpose of tumor immunotherapy.
Current projects include:
- Clinical trials of vaccine agents in patients with malignant melanoma, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer.
- Determination of the T-cell immune responses against specific antigens used in vaccination strategies through ELISPOT and other novel in vitro assays.
We are also attempting to clone tumor-specific T-cells from vaccinated cancer patients.
- Developing a novel colon cancer prone mouse that also expresses the human carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) gene.
These mice will serve as an appropriate colon cancer model for the evaluation of new CEA-directed vaccines.
- Development of recombinant poxviruses expressing costimulatory molecules and using these agents to determine the role of costimulation in breaking tolerance and induction of anti-tumor and autoimmune responses.
- Development of recombinant poxviruses expressing chemokine genes to elicit enhanced immune responses against tumors.
- Determination of optimal routes of administration of anti-tumor vaccines and the role of B-cells in tumor rejection after vaccination.
Transplant Immunology
The Transplant Immunology Laboratory at Columbia University focuses on topics of interest to transplant and hepatobiliary surgeons.
The lab was started by Dr. Jean C. Emond and Dr. Shan Zeng. Recently, Drs. Benjamin Samstein and James V. Guarrera have expanded the team and focus.
Basic science lab experience opportunities for medical students include the following areas of investigation:
- Liver ischemia and regeneration
- B cell reactions in solid organ transplantation
- Novel preservation methods in solid organ transplantation
- Induction of allograft tolerance in animal models and human cells
- New sites and detection of pancreatic islet transplantation
The laboratory combines both basic science and translational science approaches to these topics.
There also an opportunity to work on clinical research in areas of abdominal organ transplantation.
A two month rotation on the service can be individually designed based on the student's long term goals and interests.
The goal of the two month student research fellowship is to develop skills in basic design and implementation of research projects, including formulating a hypothesis, experimental design, organization and completion of a project, writing and presentation skills, and ultimately publication of a manuscript in a peer reviewed journal.
Please contact James V. Guarrera, MD, Investigator, at 212.305.4199.
|
