Wednesday, November 6, 2024
A pair of OMS-III students, Tiffany Cho and Sima Michele-Sohi Lilly earned the Excellence in Research Award at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Meetings in late October.
The award came from their presentation Elucidating a Key Mechanism of Perioperative and Postoperative Ileus: Microvascular Serum Leak-activation of the Cyclooxygenase Pathway Causing Colonic Dysmotility.
Postoperative ileus is a very common complication that affects between 10-30 percent of patients after abdominal surgery. It leads to longer hospital stays and contributes a cost burden of over $1 billion dollars on the healthcare system every year. It is a very uncomfortable barrier to recovery for many patients and understanding the mechanism behind it will allow us to reduce the associated morbidity and mortality in the future.
In their study, they aimed to establish that: 1) Surgery induces serum microvascular leak into the muscularis externa, and 2) Microvascular leak activates a cyclooxygenase (COX)-mediated colonic ileus. At the conclusion of the study, they found that manipulation of the GI tract does in fact cause microvascular leak of serum out of blood vessels, and they saw that bathing the colonic ciruclar muscle in human serum inhibited muscular contraction through a mechanism that was reversed by the addition of a selective inhibitor of the COX-2 pathway, valdecoxib.
“It was an honor to have the opportunity to present this research and an even bigger honor to receive this award,” Sima Michele-Sohi Lilly said. “The ACS is notoriously selective about who they grant presentations to, and even more so about who they grant awards to. It was a nerve-wracking and incredibly rewarding experience to be able to share what we have studied with current leaders in the field and practicing physicians from around the country. We feel incredibly grateful and blessed to have participated and would like to thank LUCOM for their support of our research and travel.”
The students conducted the research during the summer research elective between their first and second year, with Dr. Anthony Bauer. They continued this study throughout our second year as well.
The 2024 ACS Clinical Congress was expected to have around 12,000 attendees, including 7,000–8,000 professional MDs. It is the Annual American College of Surgeons (ACS) meeting where surgeons come to present research, learn about new surgical technology and network.
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is the world’s largest organization of surgeons, dedicated to improving surgical patient care and setting high standards for surgical practice and education. The ACS was founded in 1913 and has over 90,000 members worldwide.
“Attending ACS Clinical Congress allowed for us to present research pertinent to the field of colorectal and trauma surgery to leaders in the field, network with surgery residents, and represent LUCOM at a very respected conference,” Sima added.
“Without the research funds allocated for presentations, I would not have been able to attend this conference,” Tiffany Cho added. “At the conference, I attended lectures regarding new technologies and optimization of existing techniques to improve outcomes, ergonomic considerations for longevity in surgery, and about social factors influencing post-surgery recovery and also interacted with residents from various programs.”
“I hope all of these experiences and knowledge will build up the LUCOM community and help further establish LUCOM, a medical school that emphasizes how the pursuit of Christ is a motivation for excellence in all domains of life, practice, and education,” Tiffany closed.
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