Research - Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency

Our mission is to train the next generation of academic cardiothoracic surgeons. To aid in this process, we are distinguished from other training programs by the quality and breadth of research efforts taking place within our divisions of cardiac and thoracic surgery.

Listed below are brief descriptions of the outstanding research labs run by our cardiothoracic faculty. You will see that opportunities exist in transplantation immunology, artificial organs, stem-cell therapies for congenital heart disease and transplantation, ex vivo lung perfusion and RNA-based therapies for esophageal cancer. These laboratories are a testimony to the driving spirit of innovation that thrives in our program. In addition, during the two-year research experience, we arrange for each resident to obtain a master's degree in clinical research science. To date, three of our residents have already received their degrees.

Artificial Organs Laboratory

Dr. Bartley Griffith's Artificial Organs Laboratory is an integral part of the Surgical Research labs in the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Department of Surgery. The laboratory is a multi-disciplinary education, research and development laboratory consisting of cardiac surgeons, engineers, scientists, residents and students.

Their mission is to research and develop next-generation artificial and bio-hybrid organs that can support patients with cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, or bridge patients with chronic disease to heart and lung transplantation, and provide the basic understanding of how these devices affect the biologic system at organ, tissue, cellular and molecular levels.

The laboratory is involved in basic and applied research of cardiovascular and pulmonary disease and the fundamental technical problems associated with artificial and bio-hybrid organ development. The current research projects include development of computational fluid dynamic based modeling of blood damage, and the development of an artificial pump lung, and the investigation of left ventricular unloading with a micro LVAD following acute myocardial infarction.

Thoracic Surgical Research Laboratory

Our laboratory is focused on enhancing the understanding of esophageal cancer biology with an ultimate aim of identifying novel therapeutic targets.

Currently, they are focused on the study of post-transcriptional gene regulation by RNA-binding proteins and microRNAs. The lab analyzes expression of these factors in esophageal cancer cells lines and human specimens. In addition to linking their expression with patient prognosis, they utilize advanced cell biology techniques to identify their targets and determine the effects of modulating expression of individual RNA-binding proteins and microRNAs.