The department held its first Research Day on Monday, January 13, in the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center. Organized by Associate Professor Brant Wagener, M.D., Ph.D., the event featured 38 research posters and three speakers.
Jack Crawford, M.D., Ph.D., presented his poster “Solvent/detergent-treated plasma vs. fresh frozen plasma for cardiopulmonary bypass surgery in children: single center, case control comparison,” which was awarded Outstanding Research - Clinical Science; Nithya Mariappan, Ph.D., presented “Emerging role of extracellular nucleic acids in a gastric aspiration model of ARDS," which was awarded Outstanding Research - Basic Science.
Visiting Professor Miles Berger, M.D., Ph.D., from Duke University, presented “From Spinal Fluid to Magnetic Resonance: Transdisciplinary Studies of Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders.” Berger also served on the team judging posters at the event, ultimately selecting Saurabh Aggarwal, Ph.D.’s “Chronic Widespread Pain in HIV: Novel Mechanisms and Therapeutics” to receive the Outstanding Research Poster award at the conclusion of the day.
The event hosted nearly 75 attendees from both the clinical and basic science divisions within the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, as well as guests from the School of Medicine and Health System leadership.
“The day was a success because we had such active involvement from our department’s researchers,” said Wagener, who also oversees the department's STAR research program. “They submitted posters representing clinical, basic, education, and translational research, showing how and why our department is successful and where we can continue to grow.”
"The value of discovery and research in an academic department cannot be overestimated,” said Dan Berkowitz, MB BCh, department chair. “It creates a unified purpose. I firmly believe that on this first Research Day our department demonstrated 20/20 vision. I should like to thank our first faculty organizer, Dr. Brant Wagener, who ran with the idea and created a program that truly celebrated the hard and deep work of our scholars and researchers."