UM Surgery Resident Receives National Research Award
The Association for Academic Surgery has presented the Outstanding Resident Research Award for Basic Science to Punam Parikh, M.D., a third-year resident in the DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, for a study exploring the use of gene therapy to promote wound healing in patients with critical limb ischemia, an advanced stage of peripheral artery disease.
From left, Zhao-Jun Liu, Ph.D., Punam Parikh, M.D., and Omaida C. Velazquez, M.D.
“These patients are at an end-stage point,” Parikh said. “They are suffering from wounds to the legs and need therapy as soon as possible – either bypass surgery or endovascular therapy to try to restore proper circulation. But they are often not candidates for these treatments, and the only solution is amputation.”
Parikh and her colleagues – including Omaida C. Velazquez, M.D., professor and chair of surgery – wanted to look at gene therapy as an alternative for these patients. They tested E-selectin/Adeno-associated virus as a gene therapy in a pre-clinical animal model and found that it helps enhance blood vessel formation and increases blood flow to the limb, expediting wound healing.
“Dr. Parikh’s research may introduce a revolutionary treatment approach to the problem of peripheral vascular disease that causes pain, wounds and gangrene in patients,” Velazquez said. “Many of these patients ultimately end up with a major limb amputation that perhaps one day can be consistently avoided with these types of novel gene therapy treatments.”
The award was presented at the Association for Academic Surgery’s 13th annual Academic Surgical Conference (ASC) in late January in Jacksonville. The Miller School presented an impressive 31 studies, ranking in the top 10 with institutions including Yale, Northwestern, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Johns Hopkins and Stanford.
The other co-authors on the study from UM’s Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery were Zhao-Jun Liu, Ph.D., research associate professor; Roberta M. Lassance-Soares, Ph.D., research assistant professor; Hongwei Shao, Ph.D., assistant scientist; and research associates Manuela Regueiro, Ph.D., and Yan Li, Ph.D.
Parikh, who has undergraduate and medical degrees from UM, looks forward to advancing this research. “The fact that a big association like the ASC recognizes this work really gives us some backing for the ultimate high impact of the approach,” Parikh said. “And obviously many people are considered for this prestigious award. We’re happy that our research stood out.”
Tags: Association for Academic Surgery, DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery, Omaida Velazquez, Punam Parikh