Research Discoveries Highlights

The Medical Research Institute is distinguished by its many important contributions to biomedical and behavioral research:

1950s: Development of the membrane oxygenator type heart-lung machine for use in open-heart surgery.

1960: Insights into the intellectual and behavioral after effects of viral encephalitis.

1965: Developed and implemented the first computer-based respiratory monitoring system in an intensive care unit in
the country.

1979: Designated as one of nine Public Health Service Alcohol Research Centers in the nation and the only center studying the epidemiology of alcohol problems.

1980: Found evidence for an abnormal antibody to the nerve cells in the blood serum of some amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) patients.

1981: Development of a computerized technique to measure visual abilities in infants as young as three weeks of age.

1981: Work demonstrating for the first time how cancer drugs are taken up by leukemia cells in tissue culture and how this correlates closely with uptake in patients.

1982: Method developed for isolating the enzyme inhibitor alpha-1-antitrypsin in sufficient quantities to use in replace ment therapy to prevent or control lung disease.

1982: Pioneered a pharmacological treatment for the correction of strabismus (crossed eyes).

1983: Developed leukapheresis for the treatment of hairy cell leukemia.

1984: First reported successful use of the Left Ventricle Assist Device as a "bridge" from critical cardiac failure to organ transplantation.

1984: Landmark national epidemiological study identified, for the first time, differences in the characteristics of groups at high risk for alcohol problems among whites, blacks, and hispanics.

1991: Method of diagnosing diabetes developed utilizing the intravital microscope to study the blood vessels under the nail fold.

1991: Seven year clinical trial established that treatment of isolated systolic hypertension helps to prevent strokes.

1992: First report in world's literature demonstrating the efficacy of the antibiotic Azithromydn in treatment of Mycobacterium avium complex in AIDS patients.

1992: Published the first report documenting that mutations in the tumor suppressor gene, p53, result in an aggressive form of breast cancer.