<P>The Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery is committed to fulfilling Stony Brook’s mission of excellence in research, and to advancing scientific knowledge to improve patient care and population health.</P>
<P><STRONG>Participation in our clinical trials is always completely voluntary</STRONG>, and never interferes with the normal standards for patient care.</P>
<P>Our clinical trials enable us to use, in addition to established therapies, the newest and most advanced technologies and treatments — long before they are available to other physicians.</P>
<P>Our clinical trials include a range of new strategies to improve the outcomes of heart surgery and also the technology used by surgeons.</P>
<P>Evaluations of newly developed drug therapies to improve surgical outcomes are conducted, as well.</P>
<P>Patients participate in our clinical trials only after they receive a complete explanation of their options from their surgeon and surgical team.</P>
<P><SPAN class=pointer><STRONG>For information about our current clinical trials, please visit our <A href="/surgery/research/clinical-trials">Clinical Trials</A> page, or call our research coordinator Leah Smith-McAllister at 631-444-7230.</STRONG></SPAN></P>
