Cardiovascular Research Institute

The Small Animal Surgery Core provides specialized microsurgical expertise for cardiovascular and neurological research. The core offers essential surgical capabilities that enable investigators to study disease mechanisms and test therapeutic interventions in preclinical models. Investigators work with Core Director SeongHun Yoon, PhD, and team, who bring over 25 years of experience in small animal microsurgery across multiple species, including mice, rats, and rabbits, with particular specialization in cardiovascular disease models such as hypertension, stroke, myocardial infarction, and heart failure.

The core performs a comprehensive range of procedures, including:

Open Chest Cardiovascular Models

• Myocardial infarction (MI) by left anterior descending artery ligation with customizable infarct sizes
• Neonatal MI by left anterior descending artery ligation on 1-3 days-old mice pups.
• Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) models with strain-specific occlusion protocols
• Transverse aortic constriction (TAC) for pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure
• Left stellate ganglion ablation (LSGA) + TAC complete removal of left stellate ganglion and then do TAC surgery
• Pulmonary artery banding (PAB) for right ventricular dysfunction studies
• Intra-myocardial injections (IMCI) into left and right ventricular walls for delivery of cells, therapeutics, or gene therapy vectors

Neurological Procedures

• Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) stroke models

General Procedures

• Hindlimb ischemia
• Jugular vein catheterization and buttoning (JVCB) for drug infusion or blood collection
• Organoid transplantation under the kidney capsule
• Nephrectomy
• Tail vein injections and blood collection

For inquiries about how the Small Animal Surgery Core can support your research, please have your principal investigator contact Filip Swirski, PhD, and Araitz Alberdi Gonzalez. Dr. Yoon can be reached directly via email.