Thoracic Surgical Research

Josesph S. Friedberg, M.D. and
Taine T. V. Pechet, M.D.

Research Philosophy
Every project in our laboratory is targeted at developing a new or improved technology that is either immediately applicable to patient care or will be directly translatable to the clinical setting within two to five years. We pride ourselves in “thinking outside the box” and are particularly interested in targeting problems for which no effective or elegant solution currently exists. – Joseph S. Friedberg, MD, FACS

• Phase II Photodynamic therapy (PDT) trials
  • Surgery/intraoperative PDT for stage IIIB (based on pleural dissemination) lung cancer
  • Surgery/intraoperative PDT for non-pulmonary cancers metastatic to the pleura
  • Surgery/intraoperative PDT for primary pleural cancers (mesothelioma, others)
• Comprehensive multispecialty PDT center (first in the nation)
• Phase II trimodality (Alimta based chemotherapy/surgery/radiation) for mesothelioma
• Phase I/II haptenized autologous tumor vaccine trial for lung cancer

• Altering the optical properties of organs for light delivery/PDT for treating currently untreatable tumors
• PDT generated autologous tumor vaccine for lung cancer, mesothelioma, esophageal cancer
• Haptenized autologous tumor vaccine for lung cancer, mesothelioma, esophageal cancer
• Use of ex vivo dendritic cell manipulation to enhance cell-mediated immune response (lung cancer, mesothelioma, esophageal cancer)
• Systemic immunomodulation to amplify response to vaccine administration (lung cancer, mesothelioma, esophageal cancer)
• FHIT gene
  • Effect of inducible FHIT gene expression on lung cancer formation/inhibition
  • Effect of demethylating drugs on inactivated FHIT gene in lung cancer
  • Lung cancer survival as a function of FHIT gene status and vascular invasion
• Exploration of synergistic treatment response using PDT and novel chemotherapeutic agents (lung cancer, mesothelioma, esophageal cancer)

• Development of an “artificial lung” for reversible lung failure
• Noninvasive lung volume reduction “surgery” for emphysema
• PDT for fungal infections in the lung, brain and liver
• Development of a system for identifying areas of lung that leak air at the time of surgery
• Development of a noninvasive technique for sealing injured lungs that are leaking air
• A noninvasive ultrasound technique for detecting blood clots that are currently only detectable by radiographic dye studies
• An intraoperative technique for decreasing the incidence of post lung surgery atrial arrhythmias
• Development of a technique to prevent reexpansion or reperfusion pulmonary edema
• Studies exploring the pathogenesis of spontaneous pneumothoraces