This profile is part of a series to highlight the researchers who will be honored at a ceremony for UNMC’s 2017 Scientist Laureate, Distinguished Scientist and New Investigator Award recipients.
- Name: Jason MacTaggart, M.D.
- Title: Associate professor, UNMC Department of Surgery
- Joined UNMC: 2009
- Hometown: Cedar Falls, Iowa
The New Investigator Award
New Investigator Awards go to outstanding UNMC scientists who in the past two years have secured their first funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense or other national sources.
New Investigators also had to demonstrate scholarly activity such as publishing their research and/or presenting their findings at national conventions.
Research focus:
Vascular disease and bleeding
The goal of my research is: To reduce pain, suffering, and mortality caused by peripheral arterial disease and trauma.
My research will make a difference because: We have a great team, working in a fantastic environment, already producing some pretty cool things. Rapidly advancing knowledge and technologies are converging to allow medicine and surgery to perform feats once thought impossible. Some of our most exciting projects right now deal with ways to stop people from dying of major bleeding before they arrive to hospitals. The tools we are developing will hopefully be useful to first responders along our highways, and combat medics on the battlefield, to save lives that would once have always been lost.
The best advice I’ve ever been given is: To think for yourself and to question authority. These characteristics were deeply instilled into me by my family and have been two of the most consistent traits encountered in the best people I’ve worked with over the years.
Three things you may not know about me are:
- My wife, Bree, and I have several dogs.
- I like to fish small rivers and streams.
- I used to be an excellent Tetris player.
Congratulations Jason!
You sound amazing, I have 3 dogs as well. I recently found some information about you and your research on legs stents . I would like to know the results of your research regarding the failure of leg stents. Were you able to determine the cause and/ or a substitute stent that would work better. I have stents in my left leg which started failing six months after the procedure. Unfortunately the ultrasound did not show anything in spite of my symptoms.
Finally after numerous complaints another ultrasound finally showed the blockage in the stent but it took another six months before it showed up. I'm scheduled for another surgery August 14th. I worried that this will not last that long either. Any information you could give me regarding your research results would be greatly appreciated. Thank you Regina Heller reginaheller4@aol.com