Advancing Medical Science
Research is an important component of the Department of Surgery. There are multiple NIH-funded career development grants in the department, with junior faculty working with established senior scientist-mentors throughout the University’s research community.
The Department houses multiple R01 projects and one NIH-funded training grant for surgery residents who work simultaneously with basic science and clinical mentors. Research achievements of the surgical faculty have led to increased breast conservation in patients with advanced disease treated with pre-operative adjuvant chemotherapy, correction in an animal model of a genetically determined deficit with stem cell transplants, elucidation of the mechanisms of immune dysfunction in burns, and many others.
Each surgical division has active research underway in either clinical and/or basic science programs; and the UNC School of Medicine ranks 17th in the country in total NIH funding for 2018 and 6thamong peer public universities.