Training in Trauma and Sepsis Research
Program Director: Timothy R. Billiar MD
Program Co-Director: Matthew R. Rosengart, MD, MPH
This training program provides interdisciplinary laboratory training for up to five surgical residents or postdoctoral fellows with MD and/or PhD qualifications and is funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). Available projects include research studies relevant to the biology of trauma and sepsis and projects are usually for two or three years. Read more about current projects on our general surgery/vascular labs page.
Eligibility
Individuals with a MD, MD/PhD or PhD must also be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Applicants should be prepared to make a commitment of two to three years of training dedicated to full time research.
Trainees are expected to actively participate in research seminars, journal clubs, RCR training and laboratory meetings. Trainees are also encouraged to present their work at local and national meetings. Our training program provides trainees with the basic knowledge and required skills to enable them to function successfully as independent investigators. Financial support includes stipends, medical insurance, travel and other training-related expenses.
Our department is committed to excellence and diversity. We encourage and welcome all qualified applicants and particularly encourage applications from members of underrepresented groups in the sciences, including underrepresented minorities, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from disadvantaged economic, social, cultural, or educational backgrounds. For more information, please see:
To Apply
If you are interested, please email a one-page description of your research interests and long-term professional goals, current CV, and two letters of recommendation (one of which should be from your Program Director or Thesis Advisor indicating your ability to participate in this program for two years and another from your Department Chair) to Donielle Neal, Academic Program Administrator, meskdy@pitt.edu.
Training Faculty
|
Timothy R. Billiar, MD |
Mechanisms leading to the activation of the innate immune system and associated immune dysfunction following injury |
|
Josh Brown, MD MSC |
He is interested in the role of air medical transport for injured patients, as well as the geospatial organization of trauma systems. The lab also studies prehospital resuscitation strategies and field triage of the injured patient. |
|
Derek C. Angus, MD, MPH |
Sepsis, pneumonia, and multi-system organ failure; organization and delivery of critical care services |
|
Stephen Badylak, DVM, PhD, MD |
Tissue engineering/regenerative medicine; biologic scaffolds and extracellular matrix (ECM) biology; cardiovascular remodeling; use of naturally occurring biomaterials to promote stem cell survival and differentiation |
|
Michael Becich, MD, PhD |
Academic entrepreneurship; bioinformatics; biomedical informatics; clinical informatics; computational pathology, imaging informatics; translational informatics; translational research; personalized medicine; university technology transfer |
|
Robert Binder, PhD |
Cancer, cross-presentation, immunosurveillance |
|
Anita Courcoulas, MD, MPH |
Surgical outcomes, clinical trials, emerging technologies in bariatric surgery, and translational mechanistic studies on metabolism |
|
Jie Fan, MD |
Post-trauma inflammation |
|
Barbara Gaines, MD |
Pediatric and adolescent trauma |
|
David A. Geller, MD |
Liver ischemia and reperfusion |
|
Patrick Kochanek, MD, MCCM |
Traumatic brain injury, pediatric neurointensive care, cerebral resuscitation |
|
Fadi G. Lakkis, MD |
Innate and adaptive immune response to transplanted organs and the mechanisms of transplantation tolerance |
|
Janet S. Lee, MD |
Lung inflammation and injury |
|
Michael J. Morowitz, MD |
Gut microbiome |
|
Matthew D. Neal, MD |
Coagulopathy and hemostasis in trauma and sepsis; clinical outcomes in trauma/hemorrhagic shock and massive transfusion |
|
Juan C. Puyana, MD |
Promoting research, education opportunities, and clinical collaborations internationally |
|
Matthew R. Rosengart, MD, MPH |
Inflammation during sepsis/critical illness; trauma system organization and infrastructure |
|
Melanie J. Scott, MD, PhD |
Innate immune responses to trauma and infection with a focus on inflammasome activation |
|
Christopher W. Seymour, MD, MSc |
Development of early diagnostic and prognostic models to advance treatments for those with acute illness |
|
Jason L. Sperry, MD, MPH |
Trauma, sex-based outcome differences; coagulopathy, hemorrhage control |
|
Edith Tzeng, MD |
Modulators of the vascular injury response; role of nitrite in improving diabetic wound healing |
|
Yoram Vodovotz, PhD |
Computational & systems biology approaches to inflammation in multiple disease states |
|
Brian Zuckerbraun, MD |
Acute inflammatory response in the liver and vasculature following injury from trauma/hemorrhagic shock, sepsis, or direct vascular injury |