Research News - Department of Surgery in the Medical School at the University of Minnesota

Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., Jay Phillips Professor of Surgery and Chairman of the Department, recently received funding from the National Cancer Institute for a Surgical Oncology Research Training Program. Drs. David Rothenberger and Ashok Saluja are assistant program directors for this program. Beginning July 1, 2009, this training program, or T32, will enroll two residents or fellows each year for an in-depth, two-year research experience in surgical oncology (October 1, 2008).

Klearchos Papas, Ph.D., M.S., B.Ch.E., Assistant Professor of Surgery and Associate Director of the Islet Transplant Program and Director of Islet Processing Research and Development, was recently awarded $50,000 from the National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research for his work with Dr. Linda Tempelman, "Cylinder-Free Atmosphere Control for Incubators" (July 22, 2008).

Daniel A. Saltzman, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Surgery, was awarded a 2-year R21 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study attenuated Salmonella against pancreatic cancer (April 29, 2008).

Jonathan D’Cunha, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Thoracic Surgery, received the Cancer and Leukemia Group B Investigator Award for his proposal entitled “Translational control of non-small cell lung cancer: mechanistic investigations into the transformed phenotype” (April 8, 2008).

Garcia S, Moritz TE, Ward HB, Pierpont G, Goldman S, Larsen GC, Littooy F, Krupski W, Thottapurathu L, Reda DJ, McFalls EO. Usefulness of revascularization of patients with multivessel coronary artery disease before elective vascular surgery for abdominal aortic and peripheral occlusive disease. Am J Cardiol. 2008 Oct 1;102(7):809-13. Epub 2008 Jul 2.

Andrade RS, Blondet JJ, Kast T, Jessurun J, Maddaus MA. Evaluation of isolated rib lesions with radionuclide-guided biopsy. Ann Thorac Surg. 2008 Oct;86(4):1111-4.

Groth SS, Whitson BA, D'Cunha J, Maddaus MA, Alsharif M, Andrade RS. Endobronchial ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of mediastinal lymph nodes: a single institution's early learning curve. Ann Thorac Surg. 2008 Oct;86(4):1104-9; discussion 1109-10.

Antanavicius G, Leslie D, Torres-Villalobos G, Kellogg T, Ikramuddin S. Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Tube Insertion via Gastro-Gastric Fistula in a Gastric Bypass Patient. Obes Surg. 2008 Sep 27; [Epub ahead of print]

Strauss GM, Herndon JE 2nd, Maddaus MA, Johnstone DW, Johnson EA, Harpole DH, Gillenwater HH, Watson DM, Sugarbaker DJ, Schilsky RL, Vokes EE, Green MR. Adjuvant Paclitaxel Plus Carboplatin Compared With Observation in Stage IB Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: CALGB 9633 With the Cancer and Leukemia Group B, Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, and North Central Cancer Treatment Group Study Groups. J Clin Oncol. 2008 Sep 22; [Epub ahead of print]

Bellin MD, Kandaswamy R, Parkey J, Zhang HJ, Liu B, Ihm SH, Ansite JD, Witson J, Bansal-Pakala P, Balamurugan AN, Papas K, Sutherland DE, Moran A, Hering BJ. Prolonged Insulin Independence After Islet Allotransplants in Recipients with Type 1 Diabetes. Am J Transplant. 2008 Sep 18; [Epub ahead of print]

Akkina SK, Connaire JJ, Snyder JJ, Matas AJ, Kasiske BL. Earlier Is Not Necessarily Better in Preemptive Kidney Transplantation. Am J Transplant. 2008 Sep 8; [Epub ahead of print]

Farney A, Sutherland DE. A quick look back at the history of pancreatic surgery. Ann Surg. 2008 Sep;248(3):498-9.

Cremieux PY, Buchwald H, Shikora SA, Ghosh A, Yang HE, Buessing M. A study on the economic impact of bariatric surgery. Am J Manag Care. 2008 Sep;14(9):589-96.

Foker JE, Setty SP, Berry J, Jain P, Catton K, Gittenberger-de-Groot AC, Pyles LA. Treatment of right ventricle to coronary artery connections in infants with pulmonary atresia and intact ventricular septum. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2008 Sep;136(3):749-56.

Lee PK, Windsperger AP, Wilson CM, McCarthy JB, Wasiluk KR, Rothenberger DA, Bullard Dunn KM. The effect of a hyaluronan-carboxymethylcellulose membrane vs. polyglactin 910 mesh on intra-abdominal tumor formation in mice. Dis Colon Rectum. 2008 Sep;51(9):1403-7. Epub 2008 Apr 17.

Borja-Cacho D, Jensen EH, Saluja AK, Buchsbaum DJ, Vickers SM. Molecular targeted therapies for pancreatic cancer. Am J Surg. 2008 Sep;196(3):430-41.

Alsharif M, Andrade RS, Groth SS, Stelow EB, Pambuccian SE. Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial fine-needle aspiration: the university of Minnesota experience, with emphasis on usefulness, adequacy assessment, and diagnostic difficulties. Am J Clin Pathol. 2008 Sep;130(3):434-43.

Choudry UH, Hyza P, Lane J, Petty P. The importance of preoperative hemoglobin evaluation in large volume liposuction: lessons learned from our 15-year experience. Ann Plast Surg. 2008 Sep;61(3):230-4.

Rothenberger DA. Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation: Who Really Needs It? 94^th Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, San Francisco, CA. October 16, 2008.

Beilman GJ. New or Changed Pathogens Causing Infections in Surgical Patients. 94^th Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, San Francisco, CA. October 16, 2008.

Madoff RD. Moderator: Rectal Cancer: Optimizing Multimodality Treatment. 94^th Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, San Francisco, CA. October 16, 2008.

Antonoff MB, Shelstad RC, Reihsen TE, Schmitz CC, Chipman JG, D'Cunha J. A novel "critical skills" curriculum for surgical interns incorporating simulation training improves readiness for acute inpatient care. 94^th Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, San Francisco, CA. October 16, 2008.

Gaertner WB, Goldberg SM, Mellgren A, Madoff RD, Spencer MP, Lowry AC. Results of combined medical and surgical treatment of rectovaginal fistulas in Crohn's Disease. 94^th Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, San Francisco, CA. October 16, 2008.

Chipman JG. Development and Use of a Surgical OSATS to Assess a Simulation Curriculum for Interns. 94^th Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, San Francisco, CA. October 15, 2008.

Al-Refaie WB. Are We Undertreating Gastric Cancer in the United States? Predictors of Adequate Surgical Lymphadenectomy, Multimodality Therapy, and Survival. 94^th Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, San Francisco, CA. October 15, 2008.

Rothenberger DA. Transition: How to Cut Your Losses After a Bad Selection. 94^th Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, San Francisco, CA. October 14, 2008.

D’Cunha JD. Esophageal Stenting as Primary Therapy for Esophageal Anastomotic Leaks and Perforations. 94^th Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, San Francisco, CA. October 14, 2008.

Humar A. Adult Living Donor Liver Transplant Using the Right Lobe: Donor and Recipient Operations. 94^th Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, San Francisco, CA. October 14, 2008.

Borja-Cacho D, Pawel Z, Yokoyama Y, Ankeny JS, Antonoff MB, Dudeja V, Chugh R, Dawra RK, Vickers SM, Saluja AK. Combined therapy with anti-death receptor-5 antibody and triptolide induces apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. 94^th Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, San Francisco, CA. October 14, 2008.

Groth SS, Klopp A, Kast T, D'Cunha J, Tetteh H, Maddaus M, Andrade RS. Laparoscopic diaphragm plication: An objective evaluation of short-term results. 94^th Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, San Francisco, CA. October 14, 2008.

Dudeja V, Chugh R, Skube S, Yokoyama Y, Borja-Cacho D, Zwolak P, Antonoff MB, Dawara R, Vickers SM, Saluja AK. Silencing of heat shock factor 1: A potential therapeutic strategy for pancreatic cancer. 94^th Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, San Francisco, CA. October 13, 2008.

Andrade R. Surgical Sympathectomy. 94^th Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, San Francisco, CA. October 12, 2008.

Bianco R. Conclusions and Directions for International Research Collaborations. Conference on Challenges and Tensions in International Research Collaborations, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. October 2-3, 2008.

Sylvester M. Black, M.D., received the award for best Basic Science Research for his presentation entitled "IL-4 and IL-13 induction of a metabolic protection against the membrane attack complex of complement" during the University of Minnesota Department of Surgery 2008 Annual Resident Research Day (June 10, 2008).

Shawn S. Groth, M.D., received the award for best Clinical Research for his presentation entitled "Determination of the ideal number of lymph nodes to examine to optimize survival in patients with esophageal carcinoma: Data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database" during the University of Minnesota Department of Surgery 2008 Annual Resident Research Day (June 10, 2008).

Bryan A. Whitson, M.D., received the Cecil J. Watson Award from the Minnesota Medical Foundation for outstanding researchby a physician in graduate clinical training in any clinical department at the University of Minnesota Medical School (April 18, 2008).

Bryan A. Whitson, M.D., received the Steer-Pruitt Award from the Minnesota Medical Foundation for outstanding cardiovascular research by a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Twin Cities (April 18, 2008).

Bryan A. Whitson, M.D., received the J. Jacob Kaplan Award from the Minnesota Medical Foundation for outstanding research in immunology for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer (April 18, 2008).

Neal Holtan (History of Medicine graduate student), gave a lecture on "Dark Medicine" at the Minnesota History Center, in connection with the traveling exhibit, The Enemy Within: Terror in America, 1776-Today (March 18, 2008). The lecture discussed Charles Fremont Dight and eugenics in Minnesota and what light Dights story might have to shed on contemporary discussions of science, government and politics.

Jana Ninkovic (Sabita Roy's laboratory) won the Arthur Falek Young Investigator Award for the best pre-doctoral poster at the 14th Conference of the Society of Neuroimmune Pharmacology (SNIP), in Charleston, South Carolina (March 12-15, 2008). Her poster was titled "Chronic Morphine Modulates Fc-gamma Receptor-Mediated Phagocytosis through a Mechanism that Involves Superactivation of cAMP Leading to Inhibition of Actin Polymerization.”