Our Research
The Department of Surgery sponsors an active and robust research
program including basic science, outcomes and clinical research
components. The Department's research activities are conducted
within the following Divisions/Centers:
In addition, several members of the Department lead and actively participate in projects sponsored by the
Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT).
The Department's research and training laboratories are housed
in approximately 56,000 square feet of space on the Mass General main campus,
Charlestown Navy Yard and at the Shriners Hospitals for Children
- Shriners Burns Hospital. Research activities include:
- Cytokines
- Growth factors and inhibitors
- Protein engineering
and structural analysis in antibody combining sites
- Mediators
of multiple organ failureMetabolic consequences of thermal injury
- Bioengineering for tissue and organ replacement
- Pathophysiology
of the inflammatory process
- Humoral and cellular pathways of
immunosuppression for allografts and xenografts and genetic modulation
of the immune response
- Pancreatic cancer and acute pancreatitis
- Lung and esophageal cancer
- Ovarian cancer
- Pulmonary vascular
physiology
- Superoxide and reperfusion injury and intimal hyperplasia
- Lung development
- Wound healing
The Department's molecular
biology and developmental biology efforts will provide the impetus
for a major effort in gene therapy and molecular therapeutics
in the future. These activities will relate to ongoing studies
in receptor-ligand interactions, downstream signaling transduction
pathways, gene regulation, and intracellular trafficking. Tissue
preservation and creation of chimeras are also being studied to
permit both cell and organ specific transplantation. Major efforts
are under way in vascular biology and plastic surgery to facilitate
replantation and flap revascularization. The Department has created
a microscopy facility to study many aspects of cell biology by
electron microscopy, confocal microscopy, light microscopy, and
morphometrics. New endeavors in three-dimensional imaging and
manipulation made possible by this center should directly impact
clinical care and provide a modus in the near future for the delivery
of gene therapy.
To attain early translation of scientific advances to patient care, the Department pursues experiments in fluid dynamics, heart replacement, ventilator development, extracorporeal bypass, transplantation, tissue engineering, fetal therapy for lung development, reperfusion, endoscopy, and laser therapy. Other efforts are under way to discover blood substitutes and to study and develop chemotherapeutic, differentiating, cardiotonic, and neuroregulatory agents. A core tissue culture facility is available for media preparation, cell culture scale-up for protein purification or membrane preparation, and technology transfer.
The Department's research is carried out by approximately 250
staff members, including senior staff members, fellows, students,
and technical and support staff. Their activities are supported
by approximately $42 million in annual sponsored funding, comprising
$31 million direct and $11 million indirect. These grants are
awarded from a variety of sources, including the National Institutes
of Health (including several training, program project and center
grants), awards from foundations (e.g,. Whitaker Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes
Foundation, and National Science Foundation), industry
contracts, and miscellaneous sponsors.
The Department's research activities are governed by the Department of Surgery Research Council. The Council has been charged with developing a departmental mentoring network, raising endowments to support junior faculty, identifying and developing department-wide core resources, identifying and developing intradepartmental collaborations/synergies, and preparing an annual research report, with the overall goal of increasing Departmental funding for research, expanding and improving our research "product."
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