UF Department of Surgery well represented at Shock Society National Meeting

The UF Department of Surgery was well represented at this year’s Shock Society National Meeting, held by the North American/United States Shock Society, a professional organization whose mission is to improve the care of victims of trauma, shock and sepsis.

Presentations from UF Department of Surgery faculty, residents and staff included:

  • Phil Efron, MD, assistant professor of surgery and anesthesiology, presented “Human Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells Induce Immune Suppression After Severe Sepsis.” He also served as the moderator for the meeting’s New Investigator Competition and Research Fellowship Recipient Presentations.
  • Scott Brakenridge, MD, MSCS, assistant professor of surgery and anesthesiology, presented “The Genomic Response After Burn Injury Predicts Organ Dysfunction and Mortality.”
  • Lyle Moldawer, PhD, professor of surgery and vice chairman of research, served as moderator for the meeting’s luncheon seminar entitled “Business Development for Scientists.”
  • David Holden, a medical and doctoral student working under Dr. Moldawer, presented “Blunt Trauma Releases Cell Free Nucleic Acids, but its Prognostic Relevance Does Not Surface Until the Following Day.”
  • Ben Szpila, a UF surgery lab resident working under Dr. Moldawer, presented ”Patterns of Gene Expression Among Murine Models of Hemorrhagic Shock Trauma and Sepsis.
  • Angela Cuenca, MPH, a biological scientist working under Shawn Larson, MD, assistant professor of pediatric surgery as well as Dr. Moldawer, presented their research entitled “Alum as a Preventative Therapy Abolishes Mortality in Murine Neonatal Sepsis by Improving Effector Cell Function and Bacterial Clearance.”
  • Ines Alamo, MD, a former surgical resident now working in the lab of Alicia Mohr, MD, associate professor of acute care surgery, presented “Sphingosine-1-Phosphate/S1P Receptors Modulate Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Mobilization Following Trauma/Hemorrhagic Shock.”

The 38th Annual Conference on Shock was held June 6-9, 2015 in Denver, Colorado. The conference offers an opportunity for researchers to present data in oral and poster presentation sessions, after his or her abstract has been submitted and approved by the Society.

“This is the premier national meeting for basic and applied research in sepsis, shock and critical illness,” said Moldawer. “Not only was the University of Florida highly represented at the meeting, but the key discussion on the last day of the meeting focused on a new syndrome of chronic critical illness called PICS, first described by Dr. Frederick Moore, professor of surgery and chief of acute care surgery at UF.”