A Case Study of the Evolution of a Surgical Research Project

Abstract

In this book, a number of strategies on how to plan a research project, and how to organize a competent team of scientists to pursue such studies are discussed. The “Marburg Experiment” is an example of the “horizontal organization”, in which a team of basic scientists are put together with clinicians to attack a problem. A similarly effective approach would be a “vertical organization”, in which various collaborators of different expertise will be incorporated into the study, as the investigation progresses. In a complex project, this approach may prove cost-effective, as the specific collaborators are identified as the need for their particular expertise arises. The precondition for success with this approach is the availability of a wide variety of experts, and the establishment of superb communication within the research community. An example of such an approach in the North American context is described below to illustrate such a strategy. The project described is on an attempt to develop a new “biomechanically activated cardiac assist device”, undertaken in our laboratory at McGill University.