My current research interests fall broadly into the categories of vein / vein graft physiology and advanced endovascular aneurysm therapies. Over the past 4 years I have been working with Dr Michael Conte and Dr Christopher Owens in the UCSF Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery on several projects involving vein graft physiology, which have lead to several presentations at national meetings as well as publications. We have found that after lower extremity bypass surgery most luminal dilation occurs early (30 days) and is typically complete by 3 months. However, the response is not uniform and it appears that a mixture of local factors (e.g. vein diameter and quality), biologic factors (e.g. preoperative hsCRP levels) and systemic factors (e.g. race, indication for bypass surgery) are involved in the remodeling response.
My second major area of research interest is advanced endovascular therapies for aortic aneurysms. The development and widespread adoption of endovascular stent-grafts for infrarenal aortic aneurysms and thoracic aortic aneurysms have dramatically reduced the physiologic demands, complication rates and length of hospitalization for patients undergoing infrarenal or thoracic aortic aneurysm repairs compared to open techniques. However, aneurysms of thoracoabdominal, paravisceral and/or pararenal aorta require even more demanding operations with a higher rate of complications and longer hospitalizations. For the past 4 years I have worked with Dr. Timothy Chuter and Dr. Linda Reilly in the UCSF Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery to develop the multi-branched endovascular thoracoabdominal aneurysm repair technique. The technique is being studied under an FDA IDE in a CHR-approved study at UCSF and the San Francisco VA. As the co-principal investigator, I am responsible for overseeing the regulatory and subject care activities for the study at the San Francisco VA. This work has included consultations in the outpatient clinic, planning and performing the multi-branched endovascular repairs and analyzing the results of the study.