Research at Allegheny General Hospital

International Services at Allegheny General Hospital strive to cultivate relationships that support collaborative research in areas of shared interest. Allegheny General recognizes that the hospital can improve the quality of health care internationally through innovative research.

Scientists at Drexel University College of Medicine conduct studies in 14 major disciplines and clinical research in several subspecialties. Drexel University College of Medicine is structured so that investigators from related disciplines work together in five interdisciplinary research centers:

• Neurosciences
• Cancer
• Cardio/Pulmonary
• Muscoloskeletal/Trauma
• Human Genetics

The Neuroscience Research Center conducts, supports, and develops basic and clinical research in all neuroscience-related disciplines, including neurosurgery, psychiatry, neurology, neuroradiology, neuropathology, neuro-ophthalmology, and neuro-otology. Neural plasticity in aging studies with emphasis on Alzheimer’s disease and strokes, child and family studies, acute spinal cord injury studies, and cryomedicine represent some of the research interests in this center.

Allegheny General Hospital is host to the headquarters of the prestigious National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) – a cooperative group engaged in the nation’s foremost research and treatment for breast and colorectal cancer. Scientists at the Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute work with international colleagues, testing new chemoprevention strategies and other innovative concepts in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Furthermore, research in perfecting the tools and techniques to accomplish percutaneous mastectomy has provided a quantum leap in breast cancer care.

The Cardiovascular/Pulmonary Research Center fosters the development of interdisciplinary research programs, encouraging and supporting research in cardiac, vascular, pulmonary, and renal specialties. Some of the leading projects of the center are:

• The development of the AB-180, a low-cost, left-ventricular assist device.
• The perfection of a surgical technique to use a back muscle to help boost an ailing heart. With the help of an implanted electrical stimulator, the back muscle handles every other beat, removing considerable burden from the heart.
  
• The development of a procedure in which surgeons temporarily place a donor lung inside a trauma patient’s body to help with breathing while the patient’s own lungs recover.
  
• In the Musculoskeletal/Trauma Research Center, scientists use advanced experimental techniques and sophisticated computer simulations to better understand the dynamics of fracture, injury healing, and joint degeneration.
  
• The Human Genetics Research Center sponsors an expanding program of basic and clinical research, clinical genetics laboratories, and consultation services that bring analysis and counseling directly to the patient and family. The center’s core research support laboratories in fluorescent imaging, cell and DNA preservation, flow cytometry, DNA sequencing, and gene mapping provide molecular and cellular technology to investigators throughout the institution.
  

Please call the Department of International Services at (412) 359-5269 or contact us by e-mail at aghint@wpahs.org if you would like additional information about our research programs at Allegheny General.