Our training program provides extensive opportunities for each of our residents to learn the fundamentals of research because we firmly embrace the principle that the basics of research and academic inquiry are a core competency for all surgeons. All residents participate in a curriculum that teaches the fundamentals of surgical research, and includes discussion of topics ranging from clinical trial design to methods for data analysis to how to write a research paper. All residents also have access to a team of experts in the Office of Surgical Research who can provide guidance in study design, data analysis and scientific writing. Residents are also provided with mentorship and access to the directory of ongoing research projects and faculty research interests to optimize their research experience.
With the support of these resources, all categorical general surgery residents are expected to submit at least three manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals over the course of their residency. Most residents also present their work at local, regional and national scientific conferences; and they receive funding to cover the related travel expenses.
For information about research activities in the Department of Surgery, please see the department research page.
Research Interests of Our Faculty Members
Throughout their training, our residents and fellows participate in research under the mentorship of our expert faculty members whose interests span the gamut of surgical subspecialties and research disciplines. Our faculty conduct research in the laboratories of Baylor College of Medicine, at affiliated hospitals in the Texas Medical Center, and at the Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness & Safety, and through sister institutions at the Texas Medical Center, including Rice University, the University of Houston and MD Anderson Medical Center.
Research Day
We are very proud of the incredible research achievements of our residents, fellows, students, and staff. Each June, we celebrate these achievements at our annual Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery Research Day. This half day event, underwritten by the halting of all non-urgent clinical activities, features podium and poster presentations highlighting the research conducted by our trainees, awards for the best presentations, and a keynote address from a distinguished visiting surgeon-scientist. Always attended by several hundred faculty, trainees and students, Research Day is perennially a highlight of our academic year. We are very proud of the incredible research achievements of our residents, fellows, students, and staff. Each June, we celebrate these achievements at our annual Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery Research Day. This two day event, underwritten by the halting of all non-urgent clinical activities, features podium and poster presentations highlighting the research conducted by our trainees, awards for the best presentations, and a keynote address from a distinguished visiting surgeon-scientist. Always attended by several hundred faculty, trainees and students, Research Day is perennially a highlight of our academic year.
Surgical Research
The department offers a large research and mentoring infrastructure.
Opportunities are available in basic and clinical science research in the laboratories of Baylor College of Medicine and at the individual hospitals. Many residents choose to spend some time in the research lab, but it is strictly optional. Residents are not required to do research and may complete their clinical training in five years.
For information about research activities in the Department of Surgery, please see the department research page.
Research Expectations
Although not all surgeons need to be trained to be independent researchers, understanding the basics of research is a core competency for all practicing surgeons. Therefore, our training program has developed learning opportunities for residents to gain an understanding of the fundamentals of research. Accordingly, all categorical general surgery residents are expected to submit three manuscripts to peer reviewed journals before the start of their chief year. To help residents meet this goal, the department provides mentorship and resources to optimize resident participation in research projects and scholarly activity.
All residents participate in a curriculum that teaches the fundamentals of surgical research, and includes discussion of topics ranging from clinical trial design to methods for data analysis to how to write a research paper. All residents also have access to a team of experts in the Office of Surgical Research who can provide guidance in study design, data analysis and scientific writing. Residents are also provided with mentorship and access to the directory of ongoing research projects and faculty research interests to optimize their research experience.
Achievements
We are proud of the research achievements of our residents, many of which are highlighted below. While all categorical general surgery residents are expected to submit three manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals before the start of their chief year, many have far more submissions and presentations at regional, national and international meetings. Many also receive major awards for their work. Finally, many of our residents successfully compete for intramural and extramural grants and funding awards, including those provided through the National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Program.
Dr. Jorge Portuondo and Dr. Samuel Creden: First place, Surgical Jeopardy Competition at the 18th Annual Academic Surgical Congress.
Dr. Jorge Portuondo: Raleigh R. Ross Scholar, Texas Surgical Society.
Dr. Katie Nordick: 2023 ASAIO Abstract Award for the project “Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation: Why Cardiopulmonary Bypass Time Matters.”
Dr. Kimberley Rebello: Second place, Robotics Skills Competition at the 18th Annual Academic Surgical Congress.
Dr. Youmna Sherif: AMA Journal of Ethics Editorial Fellowship. As a fellow, she will develop and edit a complete issue of the AMA Journal of Ethics.
Dr. Youmna Sherif: ACS/Pfizer Resident Surgical Volunteerism Award for her 15 years of medical volunteer work in underserved areas around the world.
Dr. Jennifer Chen: accepted into the Surgical Education Research Fellowship (SERF), part of the Association of Surgical Education (ASE).
Dr. Melissa Koci: 2023 Women of Excellence, Baylor College of Medicine.
Dr. Lubna Khan: selected by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) to receive a $500 Operation Giving Back Resident Scholarship to the 2023 Leadership Conference and Advocacy Summit in Washington DC.
Dr. Rodrigo Zea: Best Resident Poster Award at The American Association for Thoracic Surgery annual meeting in Los Angeles. His poster displayed his research project “Contemporary Midterm Outcomes of Chronic type A dissection”.
Dr. Andy Espinoza: $120,000 NIH F32 grant for his project “Defining Protein Signature of Vascular Invasion in Hepatoblastoma.”
Dr. Zachary Gao: AAS Outstanding Resident Research Award - Basic Science for “S1P Signaling Inhibition in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Induces Immune Remodeling."
Drs. Youmna Sherif, Sukriti Bansal and Lubna Khan: Second place in the 2022 History of Surgery Poster Competition
Dr. Stephen Manek: First place for his podium presentation at the 38th Annual Meeting of the Texas Society for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery.
Dr. Christopher Ryan: Dartmouth National Implementation Science Program Scholar.
Dr. Eithan Haim: Professional Educator Appreciation and Recognition (PEAR) award from Baylor College of Medicine medical students.
Dr. Youmna Sherif:
- 2021 Golden Scalpel Award, Department of Emergency Medicine.
- Raleigh Ross Scholar, Texas Surgical Society
- Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society
Dr. Vivi Chen: Best Poster at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Surgical Oncology on March 16, 2022.
Dr. Andy Espinoza:
- Best Clinical Research Presentation by a Resident or Fellow, 2022 Research Symposium, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery. Mentor: Dr. Sanjeev Vasudevan.
- Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society
Dr. Yanming Li: Best Quick Shot Presentation by a Resident or Fellow, 2022 Research Symposium, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery. Mentors: Drs. Ying Shen and Scott LeMaire.
Dr. Jorge Portuondo: Best Poster Presentation by a Resident or Fellow, 2022 Research Symposium, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery. Mentor: Dr. Nader Massarweh.
Dr. Kevin Huang: 2021 Raleigh R. Ross Scholar, Texas Surgical Society.
Dr. Rodrigo Zea Vera:
- President’s Award for best scientific abstract submitted by a resident or young investigator to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons 57th Annual Meeting, STS 2021. Mentor: Dr. Ravi K. Ghanta.
- American Association for Thoracic Surgery Member for a Day Program. Mentors: Dr. Todd K. Rosengart, Dr. Ravi K. Ghanta, Dr. Ourania Preventza.
Dr. William T. Cates: Professional Educator Appreciation and Recognition Award, Baylor College of Medicine students.
Dr. Christopher Ryan:
- Most Clinically Innovative Award, Baylor College of Medicine Datathon.
- James W. Brooks Resident Scholarship from the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association. Mentor: Dr. Todd K. Rosengart.
- Best Clinical Research Presentation by a Resident or Fellow, 2021 Research Symposium, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery. Mentor: Dr. Ravi Ghanta
Dr. Gabriel Glaun: 2020 Resident Consultant Award, Department of Emergency Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
Dr. Daron Jacob: Professional Educator Appreciation and Recognition Awards, Baylor College of Medicine students.
Dr. Ashley Dawson: Best Basic Science Presentation by a Resident or Fellow, 2021 Research Symposium, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery. Mentors: Drs. Scott LeMaire and Ying Shen
Dr. Richard Whitlock: Best Quick Shot Presentation by a Resident or Fellow, 2021 Research Symposium, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery. Mentor: Dr. Sanjeev Vasudevan.
Dr. Chen Zhang: Best Poster Presentation by a Resident or Fellow, 2021 Research Symposium, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery. Mentors: Drs. Ying Shen and Scott LeMaire
Dr. Vivi Chen: NIH grant totaling $166,952, “Optimizing the Risk-Adjusted CUSUM for Monitoring Hospital Non-Cardiac Perioperative Outcomes.” Mentors: Drs. Nader Massarweh and Laura Petersen.
Dr. Rodrigo Zea Vera: Southern Thoracic Surgery Association Brooks Scholarship. Mentor: Dr. Ravi Ghanta.
Dr. Christopher Ryan: James W. Brooks Resident Scholarship from the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association. Mentor: Dr. Todd K. Rosengart.
Dr. Lisa Brubaker: Accepted into the Center for Translational Research on Inflammatory Diseases T32 program Collaborative Research Training in Thrombosis and Inflammation. Mentors: Dr. Qizhi Cathy Yao and Dr. George Van Buren II.
Dr. Andy Espinoza: Received the 2020 Outstanding Intern Award.
Dr. Kevin Huang: Received the 2020 Medical Student Award for Best Teaching Resident.
Dr. Tashinga Musonza: Received the Outstanding VA Chief Resident Award.
Dr. Christopher Taylor and Dr. Denny Scaria: Received $2,500 in Accelerating Clinical Excellence grant funding. Mentor: Dr. Atif Iqbal.
Dr. Laura Trujillo: Received the 2020 McCollum Academic Achievement Award.
Dr. Elaine Vo: Received the Outstanding Chief Resident Award.
Dr. Richard Whitlock:
- Named the Organization of Resident Representatives liaison to the American Association of Medical Colleges Careers in Medicine Advisory Committee. Mentor: Dr. Sanjeev Vasudevan.
- Received the M. Judah Folkman Memorial Award for Best Podium Presentation in Clinical Science presented by the APSA board of governors and program committee and the Association of Pediatric Surgery Training Directors. Mentors: Dr. Sanjeev Vasudevan and Dr. Sarah Woodfield.
- Best Scientific Presentation (Basic Science), 2020 Research Symposium, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery. Mentor: Dr. Sanjeev Vasudevan.
Dr. Andre Critsinelis: Best Quick Shot Presentation (Residents and Fellows), 2020 Research Symposium, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery. Mentor: Dr. Ourania Preventza.
Dr. Tashinga Musonza: 2019 Golden Scalpel Award by the Department of Emergency Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
Dr. Eric Rosenfeld: Best Poster Award at the South Texas ACS Annual Meeting.
Dr. Emily Steen: 2019 Samuel Stal Research Award, Texas Children’s Hospital. Mentor, Dr. Sundeep Keswani.
Dr. Yangyang Yu: Best Poster, 2019 Texas Children’s Surgical Research Day.
Dr. Nader Zamani: Best Overall Abstract Presentation at the Association of VA Surgeons (AVAS) 2019 Annual Meeting. Mentor: Dr. Panagiotis Kougias.
Dr. Jorge Portuondo: BCM CPRIT Training Grant. Mentor: Dr. Nader Massarweh.
Dr. Emily Steen: 2019 Samuel Stal Research Award, Texas Children’s Hospital. Mentor: Dr. Sundeep Keswani.
Dr. Yangyang Yu: Best Poster, 2019 Texas Children’s Surgical Research Day.
Dr. Nader Zamani: Best Overall Abstract Presentation at the Association of VA Surgeons (AVAS) 2019 Annual Meeting. Mentor: Dr. Panagiotis Kougias.
Dr. Jorge Portuondo: BCM CPRIT Training Grant. Mentor: Dr. Nader Massarweh.