Department of Surgery News | Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University

<BIG>DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY FUNDS RESEARCH TO ADVANCE PATIENT CARE</BIG>
 
2013 Small Grants Program Announcement

We are very pleased to announce the 2013 award recipients of the Department of Surgery <a href="/surgery/research/small-grants-program">Small Grants Program</a>. These faculty physician-scientists will conduct their funded research projects this year. The Department annually provides support, on a competitive basis, for investigator research projects.

For this year's grants, a total of 12 applications were reviewed by the Small Grants Review Committee. Based on the committee's
recommendations, the following three faculty members have each been awarded a grant of $15,000 to support their research project
endeavors:

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<a href="http://medicine.stonybrookmedicine.edu/sdmpubfiles/cckimages/page/pamei…; title="Dr. Colette R.J. Pameijer" class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" rel="gallery-all"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://medicine.stonybrookmedicine.edu/sdmpubfiles/styles/110/public/cc…; alt="Dr. Colette R.J. Pameijer" title="Dr. Colette R.J. Pameijer" class="image-110" width="90" height="135" /></a></div>
<a href="/surgery/people/faculty/dr-colette-rj-pameijer">Colette R.J. Pameijer, MD</a>, associate professor of surgery, of our Breast and
Oncologic Surgery Division, for her project titled "Novel 3-D ICG Fluorescence Device for Sentinel Lymph Node Targeting."

Dr. Pameijer and her multidisciplinary co-investigators aim to create and validate a novel device for improving sentinel lymph node
identification, which is commonly used in a wide variety of cancer patients to assess for potential metastasis from a primary cancer mass.

While the proposed device would be optimized to perform non-invasive lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node targeting, it can also be
used in a myriad of other applications, such as 3-D burn and lesion modeling; thus, offering the potential to advance patient care in a variety of
different settings.

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<a href="http://medicine.stonybrookmedicine.edu/sdmpubfiles/cckimages/page/samar…; title="Dr. Ghassan J. Samara" class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" rel="gallery-all"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://medicine.stonybrookmedicine.edu/sdmpubfiles/styles/110/public/cc…; alt="Dr. Ghassan J. Samara" title="Dr. Ghassan J. Samara" class="image-110" width="90" height="135" /></a></div>
<a href="/surgery/people/faculty/dr-ghassan-j-samara">Ghassan J. Samara, MD</a>, associate professor of surgery, of our
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Division, for his study titled "The Influence of Ethanol in the Tumor Microenvironment during
Squamous Oral Mucosa Carcinogenesis."

The goal of this research project is to test the hypothesis that consumption of alcohol (ethanol) contributes to the development of oral
squamous cell cancer (OSCC) by altering the microenvironment of the oral mucosa.

While epidemiology studies have shown that alcohol is a major risk factor for OSCC, the molecular mechanism of its cancer-causing effect is
still unclear. Dr. Samara has established a research model that will enable him and his co-investigator to study the molecular mechanism of
OSCC in response to alcohol.

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<a href="http://medicine.stonybrookmedicine.edu/sdmpubfiles/cckimages/page/telem…; title="Dr. Dana A. Telem" class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" rel="gallery-all"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://medicine.stonybrookmedicine.edu/sdmpubfiles/styles/110/public/cc…; alt="Dr. Dana A. Telem" title="Dr. Dana A. Telem" class="image-110" width="90" height="135" /></a></div>
<a href="/surgery/people/faculty/dr-dana-a-telem">Dana A. Telem, MD</a>, assistant professor of surgery, of our General Surgery Division,
for her study titled "Sleeve Gastrectomy for Morbid Obesity and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: Determining a
Correlation."

Dr. Telem and her co-investigator aim to define the impact of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on the development and severity of
gastroesophageal reflux (GERD). Delineating a clear association between GERD and LSG has the potential to significantly alter procedure
selection in morbidly obese patients.

LSG is gaining popularity as a single-stage definitive procedure for morbid obesity. As more data becomes available with regard to the
safety and efficacy of LSG, several key questions have arisen. One such question pertains to the association between LSG and GERD.

Funded for an initial one-year period, these investigators may request a no-cost extension to extend their research efforts for up to an
additional year.

The purpose of the Department of Surgery Small Grants Program is to provide funding to support preliminary data capture as "seed funding"
for future grant applications submitted by faculty members. Up to three grants of $15,000 are funded annually to our faculty under this
program.

The Department is committed to excellence in research, and to advancing scientific knowledge in order to improve patient care and
population health. Toward this end, we conduct a broad range of basic science research and clinical trials.

We are particularly focused on "translational" research — on bringing problems identified in patient care to the research lab and then
returning research advances made by us to benefit our patients. We strive to define the best ideas in medicine, through research, at Stony
Brook.

<div class="pointer">For more information about the Department of Surgery Small Grants Program, please contact Dr. A. Laurie
Shroyer, vice chair for research, at 631-444-7875.</div>