Dr. Robert Dabal is a Professor of Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Chief of the Section of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery. His major research interests are in the areas of quality improvement and clinical outcomes research including improving surgical care to decrease morbidity following neonatal cardiac surgery.

Current projects include:

• "Cardiothoracic Surgery Interest and Election of Training Career Paths Among Surgical Residency Applicants"
• "Multidisciplinary Surgical Approach to Pediatric Mediastinal Masses"
• "Outcomes of G-tube placement at different palliative stages in patients with Hypoplastic Left heart syndrome"
• "Outcomes of Patients with Double Chamber Right Ventricle at UAB"
• "The CONTEGRA Pulmonary Valved Conduit for Humanitaruan Use Device
  World Database for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery/CHSS QA Initiative"

Dr. James Davies is the director of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at UAB and holds the John. W. Kirklin Endowed Chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery. He has an active clinical practice with specific interest in cardiac valvular disease. Dr. Davies is interested in clinical research related to outcomes analysis in adult cardiac surgery with an emphasis on thoracic aortic pathology, as well as the analysis and development of endovascular techniques in adult cardiac surgery with an emphasis on percutaneous cardiac valve procedures.

Current projects include:

• "A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled, Multi-Center, Study to Establish the Safety and Effectiveness of the SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve in Low Risk Patients Requiring Aortic Valve Replacement who have Severe, Calcific, Symptomatic Aortic Stenosis (PARTNER 3) (Sponsor's Protocol 2015-08)"
• "Assessing Incidence, Risk Factors, and Outcomes of Permanent Pacemaker Implantation after Aortic Valve Replacement"
• "Midterm Results of a Modification Cabrol Procedure in Redo Aortic Root Repair"
• "Repair of Traumatic Aortic Injury"
• "Society of Thoracic Surgeons Database"
• "WCG IRB - Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Dimethyl Sulfoxide Cryopreserved Platelets to Liquid Stored Platelets in Patients Undergoing Cardiopulmonary Bypass Surgery (CRYPTICS)"

Dr. James Donahue is an associate professor of surgery and the section chief of thoracic surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In addition to his clinical interests, Dr. Donahue also runs a basic science research laboratory. The laboratory is focused on studying post-transcriptional gene regulation in esophageal cancer cells as a way of identifying new therapeutic targets for management of this disease.

Current projects include:

• "Circulating Biomarkers in Esophageal cancer"
• "Comparisons of Outcomes Between Stenting vs. Open Surgical Repair of Esophageal Perforations"
• "Predicting Outcomes Following Esophagectomy for Esophageal Cancer"
• "Rates of Nodal Upstaging for Clinical Stage I Lung Cancer in Robotic and Open Lobectomies"
• "Surgical Studies on the Role of MicroRNAs in Esophageal Cancer"

Dr. Kyle Eudailey is a cardiothoracic surgeon who obtained his undergraduate degree from Brown University and medical degree from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. He went on to complete his cardiothoracic Surgery training at Columbia University Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in their integrated residency program. He brings particular expertise in complex aortic surgery, aortic valve repair, novel endovascular and interventional techniques in aortic stenting, as well as structural valve expertise particularly in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR).

Current projects include:

• "A ProspEctive, Single ARm, Multi-center Clinical InveStigation to EValuatE the Safety and Effectiveness of the AMDS in the TREatment of Acute DeBakey Type I Dissection: PERSEVERE"
• "Evaluation of the GORE® Ascending Stent Graft in the Treatment of Lesions of the Ascending Aorta"
• "HDE Submission: AMDS"
• "Thoraflex Hybrid and Relay Extension Post-Approval Study (EXTEND)"

Dr. Hampton Gray is an assistant professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. He has a special interest in improving quality and peri-operative care in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery. Specifically, single ventricle physiology and factors that improve short, intermediate and long-term outcomes in this cohort of patients. He has also published many manuscripts and books as well as delivered numerous oral presentations at well-respected medical conferences. 

Current research includes: 

• "Assessing training competency for cardiac surgery after fellowship"
• "Deep Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest versus Selective Antegrade Cerebral"
• "Perfusion during aortic arch reconstruction in Neonates and Infants"
• "Double Barrell Norwood Procedure for Complex Systemic Outflow Tract Obstruction"
• "Exploring the outcomes of children with Vascular Ring Repairs"
• "Standardization of the Norwood Procedure Improves Outcomes in a Medium Sized Volume Center"
• "Surgical outcomes of children who underwent coarctation repair"

Dr. Erik Orozco-Hernandez has been an active surgeon in all the areas of cardiovascular and lung disease, including adult heart surgery, congenital surgery, vascular and endovascular surgery, chest wall surgery and tracheal and lung surgery. . He is interested in clinical research related to the design and evolution of mechanical circulatory support and ventricular assist devices, as well as the continuous development of endovascular surgery.

Current projects include:

• "ECMO as a bridge to thoracic transplantation"
• "Extracorporeal Life Support on Pregnancy and Peripartum, Before and During COVID Pandemic: A Single Institution Experience"
• "ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation as a Bridge to Combined Heart - Lung Transplantation: A single institution experience"
• "Increased Bleeding Complications after Tracheostomy in Patients with COVID-19 Infection Requiring ECMO support"
• "Outcomes of Intraoperative Right Ventricular Assist Device Placement and Post-operative Right Ventricular Assist Device Placement in Patients with Advanced Heart Failure with Right Ventricular Dysfunction: A Retrospective Cohort Study"
• "Outcomes of Left Atrial Veno-Arterial ECMO an institutional experience"
• "Risk Factors Associated with Right Heart Failure after Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation"
• "Vascular Complications in Patients on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Support: Prevalence, Patient Outcomes, and Predictive Modeling to Guide Clinical Decision Making"

Dr. Robert A. Sorabella is an assistant professor in the Section of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery within the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. He specializes in the surgical management of infants, children and adults with congenital heart disease, as well as heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support.

Current projects include:

• "Exploring the outcomes for pulmonary valve repair"
• "Increasing Survival of Post-Cardiotomy Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (PC-ECMO) Patients: A Single Center Experience"
• "Outcomes for children in need of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)"
• "What Prevents a Patient with Heterotaxy from Reaching a Fontan Operation?"

Dr. Panayotis Vardas is an associate professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at UAB. He practices the entire spectrum of adult cardiac surgery with specialized clinical focus in heart valve surgery, including complex valve repairs, minimally invasive and robotic cardiac surgery, percutaneous valve interventions, arrhythmia surgery and coronary artery bypass grafting. Dr. Vardas has authored several publications in top medical and scientific journals and has been an active member of 15 professional societies.

Current projects include:

• "Evaluating Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Robotic Cardiac Surgery"
• "Mitral Valve Repair and Ventricular Remodeling"

Dr. Benjamin Wei is a professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and the director of the UAB Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program. Dr. Wei specializes in robotic-assisted and video-assisted thoracic surgery, lung and esophageal cancer surgery, surgery for gastroesophageal reflux disease, paraesophageal hernias and also esophageal motility disorders. His other areas of expertise include chest wall reconstruction for pectus excavatum/carinatum and organ procurement for lung transplantation.

Current projects include:

• "CALGB 140503 - A Phase III Randomized Study of Lobectomy Versus Sublobar Resection for Small (&lt= 2 cm) Peripheral Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer"
• "Cardiothoracic Resident and Fellow Operative Autonomy"
• "Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellowships - Assessing Program Websites and Impact on Applicants"
• "Cost of Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) Compared to Robotic Pulmonary Resection for Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer"
• "Evolution of Technique and Results Following “Permanent” Ravitch Type Repair for Pectus Excavatum and Pectus Carinatum"
• "Incidence, Predictors, and Cost of Prolonged Hospital Stay After Chest Tube Removal in General Thoracic Surgery Patients"
• "Long-Term Survival and Recurrence of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Using A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Database"
• "Multi-Institutional Retrospective Robotic Assisted Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy (RAMIE) Study"
• "NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System®"
• "Risk Factors for Discharge on Home Oxygen Status Post Lung Resection"
• "Risk Factors for Urinary Retention in General Thoracic Surgery Patients in the Enhanced Recovery Pathway"
• "Robotic Resections in Thoracic Surgery"
• "Spiration® IBV® Valve System HDE Number: H060002 - The Use of Intrabronchial Valve (IBV) System Under the Humanitarian Device Exemption to Control Prolonged Air Leaks in Patients After Lobectomy, Segmentectomy or Lung Volume Reduction Surgery"

As a statistician, Dr. Rongbing Xie has expertise in designing, developing, managing and analyzing clinical databases (national and international registries) and administrative databases (electronic medical records). As a doctor of public health in outcomes research, she is interested in translating statistical findings into medical decision making and public health policy making for improving health outcomes.

Current projects include: 

• "Enhancing Recruitment and Retention for Black Females with HIV: Identifying Barriers, Facilitators, and the Role of Social Determinants for the Willingness to Participate in the HEALTH Study"
• "Outcomes and Predictors in Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A Retrospective Analysis Using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons' Adult Cardiac Surgery Database"