Biography

Dr. Clark received a B.S. degree in biology in 2007 from the University of New Mexico and attended medical school at the same institution, graduating in 2011. He completed a 5 year General Surgery residency with an additional two-year Postdoctoral Research Fellowship during which he earned an M.B.A. from the UNM Anderson School of Management. After finishing residency, he attended a 2 year Vascular Surgery Fellowship at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN before returning home to New Mexico to join the faculty in the Department of Surgery. He holds a dual appointment in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology and oversees an active research laboratory.

Personal Statement

I am an independent investigator focused on translational solutions to difficult clinical problems. As a practicing surgeon, I encounter the limitations of current therapeutic strategies every day. This experience gives me a unique perspective and guides my research efforts. During my postdoctoral research fellowship, I learned to collaborate with investigators from all walks of life ranging from basic biomedical science to advanced engineering, optics and computer science. My laboratory experience is focused on wound healing and angiogenesis in mammalian systems and I have broad experience in a variety of research assays including molecular, proteomic and histological methods as well as small animal surgery and care. My laboratory is known for expertise in non-invasive imaging of the microcirculation using laser speckle contrast imaging and a significant portion of my efforts have been dedicated to understanding real-time microcirculatory quantification methods as well as complex data transformation and analysis. In our Surgical Fabrication and Hydrodynamics arm, we have developed a collaboration with the School of Engineering to investigate the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to probe vascular reconstructions, with particular interest in complex endovascular aortic repair.

Areas of Specialty

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
Complex Aortic Repair
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Complex Cerebrovascular Disease
Wound Healing and Angiogenesis

Education

University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 2011
Residency: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 2018
Fellowship: Vanderbilt University Medical Center 2020

Certifications

Board Certified, General Surgery, 2018
Board Eligible, Vascular Surgery, 2020

Achievements & Awards

Dual appointment in the Department of Surgery and the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology
Principle Investigator, Vascular and Endothelial Surgical Sciences Laboratory (VESSL)

Languages

  • English

Research and Scholarship

1. Clark, RM, Cicotte, K, McGuire, P, Hedberg-Dirk, E and Howdieshell, T. (2014). The effect of projection
microstereolithographic fabricated implant geometry on myocutaneous revascularization. Surgical Science (5), 513-525.
2. Clark, RM, Coffman, B., McGuire, P., and Howdieshell, T. (2016). Myocutaneous revascularization following graded-ischemia in lean and obese mice. Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy (9), 325-336.
3. Caldwell, KE, Clark, RM, Coffman, BB, Brandenburg, JS and Howdieshell, T. (2018). Investigation of open abdomen visceral skin graft revascularization and separation from peritoneal contents. Surgical Science (9), 24-43.
4. Brandenburg, JS, Clark, RM, Coffman, BB, Sharma, G, Hataway, HJ, Prossnitz, ER and Howdieshell, TR. (2020). Sex differences in murine myocutaneous flap revascularization. Wound Repair and Regeneration (In Press).
5. Clark, RM, Coffman, B, and Howdieshell, TR. Preliminary investigation of venous flow restoration in a murine model of unilateral hindlimb venous occlusion. Presented at the Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Annual Meeting June, 2016. Washington, DC.