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Surgical Notes
A newsletter from VCU Department of Surgery
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VCU Surgery Reaches 54th in the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research Rankings | |
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VCU School of Medicine continued its rise as a national leader in addiction science, jumping to No. 8 in funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (up from No. 12 last year), and up to No. 16 in funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse — a significant jump from No. 25 last year. When the NIAA and NIDA funding are combined we rank 9th nationally in addictions research funding from NIH with over $31 million in funding.
Surgery was ranked 54 out of 76, with over $1M in NIH funding
Read full release
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Dr. Giao Phan Leaving VCU | |
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After many years, Dr. Giao Q. Phan, M.D., FACS, (Associate Professor, Division of Surgical Oncology) is leaving VCU.
Some of her career highlights include:
- Built a robust and busy multidisciplinary Melanoma program.
- Led the first cell therapy clinical trial in Virginia using TIL cells for patient with metastatic melanoma.
- Principal investigator of 2 melanoma clinical trials, and associate investigator of numerous clinical trials.
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Co-author of an important paradigm-changing publication in New England Journal of Medicine showing that neoadjuvant immunotherapy prior to surgery led to better outcomes for patients with advanced melanoma: https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2211437
Thank you for your years of service!
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VCU Health Evans-Haynes Burn Center Celebrates 75th Anniversary | |
On Sunday, December 4, 2022 the VCU Health Evans-Haynes Burn Center celebrated our 75th Anniversary with a celebration at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Faculty and staff as well as patients, friends and supporters gathered to learn about the burn center's origins, to watch videos of poignant patient stories and to celebrate innovations in burn medicine that are saving and transforming lives. | |
CDC Awards $6M Grant to VCU to Address Richmond’s Youth Violence | |
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In September 2021, the CDC awarded a $6 million grant to two VCU researchers who will co-lead a project on community-led strategies to promote healthy communities and positive youth development opportunities, and to prevent and decrease youth violence in Richmond. The five-year grant was received by Terri Sullivan, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Psychology and associate director of research at the VCU Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development, and Nicholas Thomson, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Surgery and the Department of Psychology and director of research at VCU Health’s Injury and Violence Prevention Program. The grant is one of only five awarded nationally and designates VCU as one of the CDC’s Youth Violence Prevention Centers.
Read full release.
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Dr. R. Hart Moore (Urology PGY-4) won the SUFU (Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine, & Reconstructive Urology) annual basic science essay competition. This award is given annually at the national meeting to recognize the best submitted basic science paper and is open to all MDs, PhDs, residents, students, etc.
This marks the 3rd time someone from VCU has won this award, joining Cullingsworth (student) in 2018, and Balthazar (PGY4 resident) in 2019.
Congratulations, Dr. Moore!
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Welcome New Pediatric Surgery APPs! | |
We are excited to welcome 5 new Children’s Surgery APPs to the surgery team. These team members are going to start a new APP model in the Children’s Hospital. Their primary role is to help support pediatric traumas in the new hospital alongside our physicians and care teams. In addition, they will help focus on throughput in the inpatient units. They will be covering all of the Children’s Surgery services for the system and are a great new service additions to our teams! | |
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month | | |
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The CRS division has been sharing the guidelines for colon and rectal cancer screening with our community throughout the month of March which is colon cancer awareness month. Dr. Bohl has partnered with Massey to publish Myths and Misconceptions about colon cancer screening and treatment on Massey’s website.
Have you had your colon cancer screening? If you have questions about screening modalities or would like to schedule your colonoscopy, please call 804-827-0049.
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Pauley Heart Center Grant Application | |
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Dr. Vignesh Vudatha, MD (PGY-3 General Surgery), was part of a team that submitted a proposal for the Pauley Heart and Massey Cancer Centers Pilot grant.
Titled "The Impact of Cardiac Cachexia on Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC)", the proposal will be the first to evaluate cardiac cachexia in the setting of PDAC. PDAC is a highly aggressive malignancy that leads to physiologic changes in the human body. Ultimately, this pilot project will serve as a foundation for NIH/NCI funded mechanisms to study cardiac
cachexia in PDAC patients.
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Aaron Bordley
Associate Administrator
Acute Care Surgical Services
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How long have you been with Surgery?
- I started on January 8, 2023, so about 2.5 months.
Describe your role in your own words
- My job is to make sure VCU Health’s Acute Care Surgery and Outpatient Wound Care Services are operating effectively and growing. I’m successful if our practices are thriving, our team is engaged, and our patients are happy.
Most exciting and/or challenging part of your position?
- I come from a strategy and business development background, so I’m excited to see our services achieve new horizons. Getting to the next level isn’t easy, but with concerted efforts and steps forward we can achieve anything if we work together as a team.
What gives you the greatest satisfaction in your job?
- I’m most satisfied when I’ve made someone’s life easier, through an improved process, fast turnaround, or a solved problem.
What do you do for fun outside of work?
- I’m new to RVA, so I’m enjoying discovering the uniqueness and essence of Richmond. I’ve stumbled upon art galleries, tried our new restaurants, and marveled at the skyline at night. It’s not NYC, or DC (where I moved from), but it’s a great city and is truly growing on me!
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Department of Surgery | Virginia Commonwealth University | (804)828-7874 | surgweb@vcu.edu
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