Surgery research day showcases scientific achievements
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine hosted the inaugural surgery research day and Lily Altschuler Memorial Symposium in Pancreatic Cancer Research on May 12, showcasing scientific achievements of faculty and trainees.
Research day began with grand rounds and a keynote lecture by Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACS, dean and senior vice president for medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. More than 300 Miller School faculty and staff participated.
“Our research expansion efforts in collaboration with Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center have been very significant,” said Omaida C. Velazquez, M.D., FACS, chair of the Department of Surgery, David Kimmelman Endowed Chair in Vascular Surgery, and Surgeon-in-Chief for the University of Miami Health System and Jackson Health System.
“We are expanding our research portfolio and using innovative technologies to advance the understanding of pancreatic disease pathophysiology,” Velazquez added. “Our ultimate goal is to benefit patient care by bringing the new scientific discoveries from the lab bench to the hospital bedside.”
The pancreatic cancer symposium was followed by the department of surgery faculty research presentations. In the afternoon, the research day poster session was held in the Schoninger Research Quadrangle, with 96 posters from graduate students, post-graduate fellows, and clinical fellows.
“At the Department of Surgery, we conduct cutting edge research and train basic, translational, and clinical science researchers,” said Velazquez. “Our research faculty and surgeon scientists are extramurally funded and well known nationally and internationally in the pancreatic research specialty, have published in prestigious peer-reviewed journals and presented at many research conferences around the world.”
Research day concluded with an awards ceremony hosted by Velazquez.
For information on the department’s research, visit http://surgery.med.miami.edu/division-of-research.
Tags: Ashok Saluja, Omaida Velazquez, Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute, research, surgery, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center