From Vice Chair, Surgical Research
The Section is dedicated to the pursuit of the full spectrum of biomedical research by faculty, fellows, residents and students. Vanderbilt Surgery faculty members have consistently achieved NIH funding levels in the top ten percentile for Surgery programs nationwide.
The Division of Surgical Research in the Section of Surgical Sciences is the primary research resource for all Section departments. It provides vital facilities and services for conducting the research programs of the investigators. It also plays an integral role in training the research fellows.
Diverse research opportunities are available to individuals seeking careers in academic surgery. Most surgical residents spend a two-year research fellowship working with established surgical faculty investigators. Residents pursue research spanning the full range of investigation from basic science to translational investigations, and clinical and outcomes-based research. Opportunities are available to pursue MSCI and MPH degrees for those who qualify. Â In addition, the Department of Surgery emphasizes its serious commitment to the development of academic surgeons by sponsoring resident pursuit of Ph.D. degrees within the basic science departments.
The laboratories of the Division consist of 9,000 square feet of space divided among the individual departmental laboratories. S.R. Light Laboratory, the largest of these laboratories, was established at Vanderbilt in 1955 through the generosity of Dr. S. Rudolph Light of Kalamazoo, Michigan. The laboratory serves as the central core facility for the Section research programs. This facility contains a 1500 square foot state-of-the-art large animal operating theater and 700 square feet of pre- and postoperative areas and instrument rooms, analytical and cell biology support core laboratories, an in vivo metabolic laboratory and laboratories for cardiothoracic surgery, urologic surgery, and hepatobiliary surgery and liver transplantation. Laboratory resources of the Division provide state-of-the-art facilities for cellular studies, including tissue culture and imaging support. Individual and departmental laboratories are all located in very close proximity to these facilities.
James R. Goldenring, M.D., Ph.D.
Vice Chair, Research
Section of Surgical Sciences
