Three Surgical Residents Complete UCSF Biodevice Innovation Fellowship
Three surgical residents complete the UCSF Biodevice Innovation fellowship
UCSF Surgical Innovations (SI) takes this opportunity to congratulate three fellows – Vamsi K Aribindi, MD (Baylor College of Medicine), Rebecca C. Gologorsky, MD (UCSF East Bay Residency Program) and Phillip Kim, MD, MBA (Columbia University), on their hard work and dedication, as they successfully complete the Biodevice Innovation training.
UCSF Biodevice Innovation program, funded by a NIH R25 grant from NIBIB, provides surgical residents with focused training for 2 years in medical research, device development, and entrepreneurship and offers the surgeon trainees with a unique opportunity to work with a multidisciplinary team of experts, access to many research, educational, and business resources at the university and beyond. The training program is led by Dr. Hanmin Lee, Professor & Chief, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Surgeon in Chief, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and by Dr. Shuvo Roy, Professor, Department of Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences, UCSF.
Dr. Michael Harrison, Emeritus Professor of Surgery, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences and Founder Director of UCSF Fetal Treatment Center served as the faculty mentor for Vamsi Aribindi. Working closely with Dr. Harrison, Vamsi explored the use of magnets for minimally invasive surgical anastomoses for diabetes treatment and validating Amnioseal, a novel surgical sealant developed by collaborating UC Berkeley team, for potential fetal surgery applications.
As a UCSF Surgical Innovations Fellow, I was immersed in an environment that emphasized practical problem solving to improve patient care. These problems and solutions could be anything from process improvements to digital health apps to physical devices, and even a basic science project in a wet lab. But no matter the form, the practical and ethical development of solutions for our patients was always front and center. I had extraordinary freedom to choose my own projects, and gained invaluable experience in securing funding via a variety of mechanisms from NIH grants to Start-up style pitch competitions and establishing and managing a team. - Vamsi Aribindi, MD
Rebecca Gologorsky, under the primary mentorship of Dr. Roy, spent the 2 years of training immersing herself in learning the complexities of developing implantable bio-artificial organs (kidney, pancreas) and others, based on novel silicon nanoporous membranes developed by Roy Lab.
The greatest benefit I've found to working in a bioengineering lab is understanding how medical technology is developed from initial concept to device testing. The biodesign process involves specialists from varied backgrounds and I've learned to draw upon each group's specific expertise to inform functional design - Rebecca Gologorsky, MD
With the guidance and mentorship of Dr. Lee, Phillip Kim spent his fellowship time in developing a mechanically assisted turning system, along with SmartDerm, a sensor patch as part of a comprehensive approach to address the decubitus ulcers, a ‘Never Event’ in patient care.
As a Biodevice Innovation Fellow, I tremendously enjoyed the synergy that comes with bringing engineers and clinicians to problem solve together. From prototyping novel medical devices to implementing pilot studies at the hospital, we fellows have the privilege of working full-time in the lab and the hospital. As clinicians, we often describe our pain points and wish things could be better -- but to then validate that clinical need, brainstorm solutions, test early (and fail early!) with iterative prototyping, and implement solutions is what we do. I feel confident that I could one day build a similar environment where engineers and clinicians can come together to continue to build novel solutions to help our patients - Phillip Kim, MD, MBA
In addition to working with the mentors on their primary research projects, fellows spent their time getting involved in many other projects of their interest and also had the opportunity to conceptualize their own device ideas for unmet clinical needs. Surgical Innovations’ nurturing environment and support from an extensive network of clinical, engineering, scientist, and business mentors and collaborators.
The SI team wish the fellows a great future as surgeon innovators!