Dr. Alan Dardik, Professor of Surgery at Yale Vascular Surgery, delivered the presidential address at the International Society for Vascular Surgery’s annual meeting this month in Athens, Greece. Dr. Dardik is the current President of the International Society for Vascular Surgery (ISVS), whose mission is to promote Vascular Surgery as a distinct medical specialty worldwide.
Dr. Dardik’s address explored the importance of research in the education of vascular surgeons, and focused on the work currently performed in the Dardik Laboratory. In particular, he discussed the Dardik Laboratory’s findings that manipulation of Eph-B4 prevents neointimal hyperplasia in vascular grafts and may be a target for future clinical trials. The work for these findings was performed entirely by laboratory members who are vascular surgeons, or in a program to become vascular surgeons. Because this work is being done by vascular surgeons, the specialty of Vascular Surgery holds creative ownership of the scientific basis of the field. Additionally, this work gives laboratory members the opportunity to do research and further their education to become better vascular surgeons.