The research enterprise within the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery is facilitated by 12 Physicians and 8 Research scientists, who are involved in clinical, translational, and outcomes research, for the development of clinical excellence and support of our academic mission. Our surgeons actively conduct cutting-edge studies that have been published in leading peer-reviewed medical journals that significantly contribute to the science of cardiac health and patient care.

Researchers at UAB coordinate data collection and analyses, and the Data Coordinating Center at UAB is responsible for maintaining the database. This registry, established in 2005, is now in its 10th year of robust, collaborative, and outcomes-focused research, facilitating the introduction of novel devices, refinement of clinical practice, improvements in patient outcomes, and enhancement of quality of life for thousands of patients.

The Pediatric Heart Transplant Study (PHTS) database collects and maintains clinical information on transplant recipients and donors from more than 40 major heart transplant centers in the United States to conduct research studies to determine and improve the outcomes of heart transplantation, to improve cardiac health, care and maximize the long-term quality of life after transplantation.

The UAB Comprehensive Cardiovascular Center (CCVC) provides an important institutional mechanism for promoting basic, translational, and outcomes research, as well as for drug and biomarker development in partnership with small businesses and industries. 
 
The Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery also facilitates an established basic science research of heart failure, transplantation, and vascular disease to determine the detailed molecular mechanisms of cardiac disease and treatments. UAB's cardiovascular research laboratories are primary sites for the development of rodent surgical models to study the cause of ischemic injury on cardiac tissue and processes to study one such protein, called Heme- oxygenase-1, that can protect organs from acute injury and vascular damage resulting from immunologic or physical injury.

In addition to our extensive outcomes research program, our faculty actively participates as investigators in industry-sponsored clinical trials.