FACULTY SCHOLARLY ACTIVITIES

The University of Texas Medical Branch has a strong history in basic and clinical science activities. Drs. McCauley and Huang are active members of the Plastic Surgery Research Council; Dr. Phillips is a former Chair of that organization and hosted the 1997 meeting. The Texas Society of Plastic Surgeons meeting was hosted by UTMB in November, 1998 and the Senior Residents' Conference was held in 1999. All of the faculty attend the didactic conferences with strong emphasis on basic science as well as clinical science. In addition, the faculty all lecture the residents on basic and clinical science. The faculty lecture the residents after they have given a presentation elsewhere so that the residents can benefit if they have not had the opportunity to hear the original presentation. The residents are given a rotation in research. Drs. Phillips and Gould oversee the design and execution of their research activities. Each resident is expected to have a project in either basic or clinical science in one of the faculty laboratories or in an area of clinical expertise. Dr. Gould, Dr. Phillips and Dr. McCauley each maintain separate clinical laboratories totaling 6,676 square feet at the Shriners Hospital. These basic science laboratories are fully equipped for animal research, microbiology, tissue culture, and molecular biology. In addition, there is 374 square feet of space for clinical research at the John Sealy Hospital for Wound Healing evaluation.

All of the faculty are involved in basic research. Dr. Blackwell centers his activity in cleft palate and craniofacial diseases. Dr. McCauley has particular interest in proliferative scar disorder. Dr. Phillips is primarily interested in wound healing impairment, especially that experienced by diabetic patients. Drs. McCauley and Phillips both have performed bench research in the areas of tissue expansion. Dr. McCauley has a large series of clinical studies in tissue expansion. Dr. Gould has industrial supported research in chronic wound healing such as venous stasis ulcers and pressure sores. Dr. Gould does clinical and basic research on the molecular biology of chronic wounds. Dr. Bauer's research project is gene and cytokine induction of collagen synthesis, scarless fetal wound healing. Dr. McCauley and Dr. Phillips have or have had Shriners Hospital grants and grants from the Plastic Surgery Foundation. All faculty members have industrial support as well. All of the faculty at the University of Texas Medical Branch regularly attend professional meetings and are active in these organizations. Dr. McCauley performs site visits for trauma/burn units for the NIH. Dr. Phillips is a member of the Plastic Surgery Residency Review Committee and former chair; and she is a director of the American Board of Plastic Surgery. All of the faculty have contributed to the clinical and basic science literature in their respective areas of interest and expertise.

All of the faculty are actively involved in their professional organizations. Dr. Blackwell is past President of the Texas Society of Plastic Surgeons. Dr. McCauley is past Section Chair, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of the National Medical Association. He recently hosted the Society for Black Academic Surgeons. Dr. Phillips hosted the Plastic Surgery Research Council at UTMB (Galveston), the Texas Society, and the Senior Residents Conference. She was elected as a member of the Board of Directors to the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation. She is active in the Committee organization of ASPRS, PSEF, AAPS, The Wound Healing Society, and The American College of Surgeons. Drs. McCauley, Blackwell, and Phillips are requested as visiting professors both nationally and internationally.

All of the faculty regularly attend their professional organizations. Dr. Blackwell is particularly active in the Cleft Palate Association, the Texas Society of Plastic Surgeons, and the ASPS. Dr. McCauley is particularly active in the American Burn Association, the Society for Black Academic Surgeons, the National Medical Association, the American Association of Tissue Banks, Society of In-Vitro Biology, and the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Phillips yearly attends the American College of Surgeons, the American Burn Association, the Plastic Surgery Research Council, the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, the Wound Healing Society, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and the American College of Surgeons. She has attended both of the twice yearly meetings of the Association of Academic Chairmen of Plastic Surgery for the last ten years, since she was named Program Director.