October 9, 2003

On the job: Rodney Greene

Name, title, length of service: Rodney Greene, senior research technologist in cardiothoracic surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine, 15 years.

photo by Mary Hanlon

What he does: Greene runs the cardiothoracic research laboratory. The lab researches angiogenesis, which is a method to grow new blood vessels to the heart. This program is particularly helpful to people who suffer with angina (chest pain) and decreased myocardial perfusion and function. Through a laser process called transmyocardial revascularization or TMR, patients can grow new blood vessels to the heart. While he does most of his work with animal models, Greene has had the opportunity to operate the Co2 laser on a few people who have undergone this treatment.

Kudos: In 1996, he was named the Employee of the Year.