Research and Scholarship

Our 10-module research rotation and didactic conferences and lectures give you many valuable opportunities to pursue your research interests. Our program enables you to participate in every facet of academic research, preparing you to pursue a career in academic medicine. Moreover, concepts you learn during your research experience will enhance your approach to patient care.

With the guidance of a faculty mentor, you will learn about research methodology and interpretation as you design and conduct experimental studies.

When you complete your project, we expect you to present your findings at our research conference and deliver an abstract at regional or national meetings. We also expect you to author a publication stemming from your research. Our fellows and faculty have strong publication records. We will mentor you on writing a publishable manuscript and guide you through the revision and submission process.

While you work on your research project, your clinical responsibilities will be limited to no more than two half-days per week in our outpatient clinic.

The structure of your research experience will vary according to your unique research interests. In conjunction with your research mentor, you will design a project and periodically review progress and research goals.

Our faculty have ongoing research on a variety of key topics, including respiratory infections, sleep apnea, respiratory muscle function and sleep apnea.

We give you opportunities to participate in:

• basic bench research
• translational research
• epidemiologic and clinical studies
• clinical trials

Many of our faculty members maintain research laboratories at the Buffalo VA Medical Center, housed within the divisional wing in the main hospital and in the adjacent, dedicated research building. These laboratories offer access to state-of-the-art laboratory equipment, including flow cytometry instruments, Luminex assays, real-time PCR thermocycling and more.

Our division’s wing at the VA includes several well-equipped rooms dedicated to clinical research into chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and sleep and respiratory muscle function.

You will bolster your firsthand research experience by attending a variety of clinical and research conferences. Our fellows attend and present at national meetings and gatherings including:

• American Thoracic Society’s annual meeting
• American College of Chest Physicians’ annual meeting

Attending these conferences helps you see the broader implications of your research findings while forming potentially collaborative relationships with investigators from other institutions.

We maintain strong research collaborations with other divisions within our department and other departments in the medical school. We also work in conjunction with programs at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences. In addition, we have ongoing collaborations with international institutions and universities across the nation, including John Hopkins University and the University of Iowa. If you are interested in opportunities outside of our division, our program director will help you arrange them.