Students doing hands-on research

The UC Irvine Department of Surgery has a history of innovation, dating back to the first successful neonatal case of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in 1975, Baby Esperanza (PMID: 29084039). This innovation was led by Department of Surgery faculty member Robert Bartlett, MD. Since that time, UC Irvine has continued to lead the way in cutting-edge, multidisciplinary surgical innovations, including the recent use of a combined GI/surgical approach to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) with concomitant minimally invasive laparoscopic hiatal hernia repair and transoral incisionless fundoplication (PMID: 33346082). Currently, we have all the resources and institutional support to lead future innovations and thereby change the paradigm of surgical practice.

In 2021, Reed Ayabe, MD, and his mentor from the National Cancer Institute were issued Patent No WO2023096651A1 for developing a novel therapeutic target for treating bile duct cancers, including cholangiocarcinoma. David Imagawa, MD, PhD, and colleagues were issued US Patent No 11712418B2 on August 1, 2023, for an innovative chemoembolization therapy, which combines the therapeutic effects of peripheral arterial occlusion to vessels providing blood flow to a tumor with the local administration of an anti-cancer agent, resulting in tumor oxygen deprivation. Patent applications for this innovation are in progress in Australia and Korea.

In addition, Department of Surgery faculty members are actively collaborating with researchers at the Beckman Laser Institute on innovative devices for noninvasive and real-time monitoring during various clinical conditions. The Beckman Laser Institute is an internationally recognized center for research and innovation that focuses on translation research to bridge the gap between laboratory research (benchtop) and clinical application (bedside).