By Joyce Kryszak
Buffalo, NY – Kaleida and UB broke ground Monday for the new global vascular research institute. But news of the revolutionary approach to vascular care is already drawing so-called superstars in science.
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The future ten story facility is being hailed as a world-class medical center that will be on par with such renowned clinics as those in Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Researchers are expected to pioneer groundbreaking treatments. And spin-off businesses will be nurtured to produce the innovative devices and techniques born of the research.
Doctors say what makes it unique is the approach. Doctor Nick Hopkins is the director of the Toshiba Stroke Center at UB. He said vascular care will no longer be segregated. He said the best minds in neurosurgery, heart and stroke research will work together creating synergy that will lead to medical breakthroughs.
And that synergy is already in motion. Doctor Elad Levy is a neurosurgeon who left the Pittsburgh clinic to come to Buffalo. He quickly rebuffs the label of superstar. But his pioneering, minimally invasive surgical techniques will be one cornerstone of the work done at the new center. Dr. Levy said the institute is truly one of a kind.
Levy admits that traditional medicine does pose some barriers. But he said the facility's architecture forces doctors to collaborate - whether they want to or not.
He and others say the center will draw patients and more "superstar" doctors from around the world.