Our Research
Leading the Future of Cardiovascular Surgery
The CORELAB is dedicated to defining clinical outcomes and improving processes of care in cardiovascular surgery. In doing so, we aim to also train the next generation of clinician-scientists who can then disseminate our mission of groundbreaking research around the world.
Research Focus Areas
Health Services Research
Utilizing large national databases, our team investigates a range of surgical outcomes encompassing factors such as timing to surgery, readmission rates, and hospital variation. We focus on a diverse spectrum of procedures, including those within cardiac, trauma, gastrointestinal, and general surgery to better guide future work on the standardization of practice as well as the optimization of care.
ECMO
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used to support patients with advanced cardiac and/or pulmonary failure. More recently, venoarterial (VA) ECMO has been used as an adjunct to CPR, which has increased the number of patients on extracorporeal support. These recent trends have guided our research on the efficacy and outcomes of ECMO among national cohorts by implementing robust statistical methods as well as the development of machine learning models.
Social Disparities and Access to Care
Given the rising awareness of racial and socioeconomic disparities in access to care within the United States healthcare system, our team works to evaluate current guidelines for surgical candidacy, especially for vulnerable populations. By evaluating the influence of socioeconomic distress and social determinants of health on surgical outcomes, we aim to explore factors that place these individuals at risk for adverse events to propel institutions to address these inequities.
Prototype Design
Our team has been developing methods to 3D print anatomically accurate heart models to improve surgeon training and procedural preparedness. Using flexible materials, surgeons can practice surgical techniques on these models.