Research

FACULTY & STAFF

Lillian Nanney, Ph.D. (CV / Publications)

Lillian B. Nanney, Ph.D. serves as the Director of Plastic Surgery Research Activities. She was the first full-time research faculty member to join the department and she has developed and directed the program for the past 25 years. She developed an expertise focusing on mechanisms that control cutaneous growth. She directs efforts to study a broad spectrum of conditions ranging from poor or delayed skin repair (burns, chronic wounds, mouse models of injury) to undesirable hyperproliferative growth conditions that include malignancy. Dr. Nanney’s contributions are varied within the Vanderbilt’s intellectual community. She serves as the Co-Director of the Skin Disease Research Center, the Founder and Director of Vanderbilt’s Institutional Immunohistochemistry Core Laboratory, and the Area Director for Laboratory Based Biomedical Research within Vanderbilt’s Emphasis Program. She teaches full-time in Medical Gross Anatomy and was the 2005 award recipient for best teaching in a small group setting. Dr. Nanney’s contributions extend to the national level where she recently served as the national president of the Wound Healing Society.

Marcia Spear, MSN, RN, APRN-BC, CPSN
Assistant in Plastic Surgery

Ms. Spear has served the plastic surgery department for many years and in many capacities. She first began her experiences as a nurse within the clinic. Upon graduation from Vanderbilt’s Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program, she facilitated research within Vanderbilt’s Clinical Research Center. In 2001 she rejoined the Plastic Surgery Department where she functions in dual capacities. She serves as a nurse practitioner but she also facilitates research by completing all IRB protocols for departmental studies. She also consents, enrolls and collects data for many of the departmental clinical research projects. Most recently Marcia was the national recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Service Award by the American Society for Plastic Surgery Nurses for her work in organizing regional meetings and for her outstanding instructional efforts in designing and teaching the review course for certification in plastic surgery.

Nancy Cardwell, B.S., QIHC (ASCP)

Nancy Cardwell, B.S., is the Laboratory Manager for the Plastic Surgery Research Laboratory where she supervises and performs the administrative, research and technical duties of the laboratory. Nancy received her Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from Middle Tennessee State University in 1984, joined Vanderbilt in 1986 and has worked with Dr. Nanney since 1988. Her areas of expertise include histology and a recent qualification in Immunohistochemistry thru the American Society for Clinical Pathology. Mrs. Cardwell assists with the use of animal models in wound healing research and keeps the animal protocols current and in accordance with the IACUC. She also participates in the preparation of posters and papers for publication using computerized morphometric analysis and graphics utilizing many different computer programs.

Alonda Pollins, B.S.

Alonda Pollins, B.S., is a Research Assistant II in the Plastic Surgery Research Laboratory, and has worked with Dr. Nanney since 2002. Prior to working for Dr. Nanney she spent 3 years working in the SDRC Molecular Biology Core Laboratory here at Vanderbilt. Her areas of expertise include Molecular Biology, Histology, and Immunohistochemistry. In 2001 she received her Bachelor’s of Science from Middle Tennessee State University, where she majored in biology with an emphasis in microbiology. She is also currently enrolled in the Master of Laboratory Investigation Program here at Vanderbilt and expects to complete the program in December of 2006. Her project expands the Nanney Lab’s technical knowledge to include new proteomic technologies and explores how burn wounds heal at the protein level. Mrs. Pollins also assists in the use of animal models in wound healing research and participates in the production of high quality data, graphics, and images for presentations and publications.

Joseph A. Greco III, M.D.
Research Fellow, Department of Plastic Surgery

Joe completed his medical education with honors at the Medical College of Georgia in 2002. He is a general surgery resident, post-graduate year four, at Vanderbilt University who is taking two years in the midst of clinical surgical training to pursue research endeavors. He is currently working on using oligonucleotide microarray to analyze genetic expression changes in burn wounds. Joe is also assisting in several prospective clinical protocols within the department, including a study aimed at determining the cause of wound complications after body contouring surgery in patients who have undergone gastric bypass.

Contact Information:

Plastic Surgery Research
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Medical Center North S-2221
Nashville, Tennessee 37232
Telephone: (615) 322-7265
E-mail: lillian.nanney@Vanderbilt.edu