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Department of Surgery   

E. Christopher Ellison, MD, Chair

Surgery delivers patient care, contributes medical innovations through translational research and clinical outcomes studies, and educates medical students and postgraduate trainees. The Department interacts with all of OSUMC’s Signature Programs – Cancer, Critical Care, Heart, Imaging, Neurosciences and Transplantation – and comprises eight specialty divisions, including: Cardiothoracic Surgery; Critical Care, Trauma and Burns; General and Gastrointestinal Surgery; General Vascular Surgery; Pediatric Surgery; Plastic Surgery; Surgical Oncology; and Transplantation. The Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery, a multidisciplinary organization within the Department, develops and implements laparoscopic surgical technologies and procedures. Ohio State’s Comprehensive Wound Care Center provides for interaction between basic scientists and clinicians, enhancing translational research and patient care. Research funding received from July 2006-June 2007 by Department scientists through The Ohio State University Research Foundation was more than $8.2 million. Investigators received more than $5.2 million in grants from the National  Institutes of Health. The Department is home to the international journal Antioxidants and Redox Signaling.


Ongoing Research Programs

  • Cancer – Basic and clinical studies investigate cancer immunology and gene-nutrient interactions in breast cancer.
  • Cardiovascular – Basic, preclinical and clinical studies focus on heart failure, myocardial infarction, stroke, atherosclerosis, antioxidant nutrition and mitochondrial dysfunction.
  • Critical Care – Cytomegalovirus infection and sepsis are key areas of investigation.
  • Transplantation Research – Mechanistic studies of the immune basis of organ allograft rejection, in combination with clinical trials, are evaluating the efficacy of novel immunosuppressive agents in organ transplant recipients.
  • Wound Healing – Molecular, preclinical and clinical studies are directed toward understanding biological mechanisms (focusing on oxygen) of dermal wound healing and its impairment.


Research Accomplishments of 2007

  • Cancer – Mark Bloomston, MD, reported using microRNA to distinguish pancreatic cancer from nearby noncancerous tissue and from inflamed pancreatic tissue. Pedram Ghafourifar, PharmD, PhD, reported that tamoxifen induces oxidative stress and mitochondrial apoptosis via stimulation of mitochondrial nitric oxide synthase.
  • Cardiovascular – Chandan Sen, PhD, vice chair for research in Surgery, and Sashwati Roy, PhD, reported on laser microdissection and capture of pure cardiomyocytes and
    fibroblasts from infarcted heart regions. Benjamin Sun, MD, director of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, identified a novel approach to label skeletal myoblasts with an oxygensensing spin probe for non-invasive monitoring of in situ oxygenation and cell therapy in the heart.
  • Critical Care – Charles Cook, MD, continued his National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research on cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and bacterial sepsis during critical
    illness. His laboratory has linked CMV reactivation with lung injury, which has significant clinical implications.
  • Transplantation Research Accomplishments – Ginny Bumgardner, MD, PhD, continued her research in hepatocyte and islet transplant murine models. Charles Cook, MD,
    continued investigating the immunobiology of murine allograft acceptance to determine events that lead to allograft acceptance and the role CMV may play in disrupting acceptance. Gregg Hadley, PhD, examined transplant rejection and graft-vs.-host pathology, while Ronald Pelletier, MD, continued his NIH-funded research on chronic allograft rejection and immune tolerance.
  • Wound Healing – Chandan Sen, PhD, and colleagues reported on the role of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase complex, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and the Akt gene in regulating human monocyte/macrophage survival.
  • The Department recruited 11 faculty members, hosted nine distinguished guest speakers from external institutions, and saw 23 faculty members listed in Best Doctors in America.