The Department of Surgery has six main research initiatives:
Cancer
Adrenal Disease
Renal Perfusion
Andrology
Medical Education
Trauma
Surgical Research Service Ongoing Studies
The breast cancer projects researching the development of biomarkers to assist with
diagnosis, and ultimate treatment, involve several physicians and scientists on campus,
including Dr. Lesley Ann Hawthorn, a research scientist in the Augusta University Cancer Center.
Dr. Robert Nesbit, emeritus professor of surgery, has worked with the virtual patient team over the
last several years to develop the breast health assessment modules that are now fully
integrated into the surgery clerkship. The virtual patient team uses virtual characters
- images of life-size humans cast on a wall or screen - to teach medical students
medical history taking and parts of the physical examination. Virtual characters are
developed as patients based on ethnicity, gender, age and disease (such as a 30-year-old
African-American woman with a breast mass).
Dr. Steve Holsten, has developed to projects to be implemented shortly within the Department of Surgery.
These projects involve assessment of resident competency in the performance of required
procedures, as well as a review of the assessment and referral of trauma patients
with known psychiatric disease issues, or with the likelihood of developing PTSD.
Dr. Jack Yu recently submitted a very large DOD grant with Dr. Carlos Isales to study the use
of MultiStem® in the treatment of chronic decubitus ulcers.