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Michael S. Conte, M.D.
Professor and Chief,
Division of Vascular & Endovascular Surgery
Edwin J. Wylie, M.D., Chair in Vascular Surgery
Co-Director, UCSF Heart and Vascular Center
Co-Director, UCSF Center for Limb Preservation
Contact Information
400 Parnassus Avenue, A-6110
San Francisco, CA 94143-0957
Phone: (415) 353-2357
Fax: (415) 353-2669
BiographyEducation
- 1978-82, Boston University, B.S., Biomedical Engineering
- 1982-86, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, M.D., Medicine
Residencies
- 1986-88, New York Hospital, Cornell Medical Center, Junior Resident, General Surgery
- 1988-89, New York Hospital, Cornell Medical Center, Senior Resident, General Surgery
- 1991-92, New York Hospital, Cornell Medical Center, Senior Resident, General Surgery
- 1992-93, New York Hospital, Cornell Medical Center, Chief Resident, General Surgery
Fellowships
- 1989-91, Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard, Research Fellow, Vascular Surgery
- 1993-94, Harvard Medical School, Fellow, Vascular Surgery
- 1993-94, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Fellow, Vascular Surgery
Board Certification
- American Board of Surgery, General Surgery, 1994
- American Board of Surgry, Vascular Surgery, 1996
Program Affiliations
- Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI)
- UCSF Heart and Vascular Center
Clinical Expertise
- Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
- Carotid Artery Disease
- Chronic Venous Insufficiency
- Complex Limb Revascularization
- Critical Limb Ischemia
- Deep Vein Thrombosis
- Diabetic Vascular Disease
- Dialysis Access
- Endovascular Aneurysm Repair
- Mesenteric Artery Disease
- Peripheral Artery Disease
- Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm
- Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
- Varicose Veins
- Vascular Malformations
Biography
Dr. Michael Conte received his medical degree in 1986 at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed his surgical residency at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in 1993, which included a two year research fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. He completed his vascular surgery training in 1994 as the John Homans Fellow at BWH and Harvard Medical School (HMS), in Boston.
Dr. Conte was an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Yale University from 1994-1997, and a member of the Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine. Subsequently he returned to BWH where he served as Assistant Professor (1997-2001) and then Associate Professor (2001-2008 ) of Surgery at HMS. From 2002-2008, he was the Director of Vascular Surgical Research at BWH and from 2005-2008, he was Co-Director of the Clinical Trials Group at the Center for Surgery and Public Health (a joint initiative between HMS, BWH, and the Harvard School for Public Health).
Dr. Conte is a member of many professional organizations, including the Society for Vascular Surgery and the Society of University Surgeons. Dr. Conte has also been an invited lecturer for many regional, national, and international meetings and conferences. In 2006, he received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the New York Weill Cornell Medical Center Alumni Council. He is on the Editorial Board for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Vascular Medicine, Journal of Vascular Surgery, and Vascular. He has served as an Associate Editor for Circulation.
Research Summary
Dr. Conte's clinical interests include diseases of the aorta and its major branches, aneurysms, carotid artery disease, and peripheral artery disease (PAD). He is particularly interested in diabetic vascular disease, and in complex revascularization to preserve limb function and prevent amputation in patients with advanced forms of PAD. He had led the largest multicenter clinical trial to date examining the outcomes of leg bypass surgery in patients with severe PAD and is nationally and internationally recognized for his leadership in this area.
Dr. Conte's research is focused on developing new molecular therapies to improve the long-term results of cardiovascular procedures. His translational research program includes basic laboratory investigations as well as prospective clinical trials to study the causes of failure of angioplasty and bypass surgery and develop new approaches to stratify patients at risk.
Clinical Trials
Selected Publications
- Conte MS, Bandyk DF, Clowes AW, Moneta GL,
Seely L, Hamdan AD, Roddy SP, Belkin M, Berceli SA, DeMasi RJ,
Samson RH, Berman SS for the PREVENT III Investigators. Results of
PREVENT III: a multi-center, randomized trial of edifoligide for
the prevention of vein graft failure in lower extremity bypass
surgery. J Vasc Surg 2005; 43:742-751.
PubMed - Wang GJ, Sui XX, Simosa HF, Jain MK, Altieri DC, Conte
MS. Regulation of vein graft hyperplasia by survivin, an
inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP). Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol
2005; 25:2081-7.
PubMed - Owens CD, Ridker PA, Belkin M, Hamdan AD, Pomposelli F, LoGerfo
FW, Nguyen LL, Creager MA, Conte MS. Elevated
C-reactive protein levels are associated with postoperative events
in patients undergoing lower extremity vein bypass surgery. J Vasc
Surg 2007;45:2-9.
PubMed - Schanzer A, Hevelone N, Owens CD, Belkin M, Bandyk DF, Clowes
AW, Moneta GL, Conte MS. Technical factors
affecting autogenous vein graft failure: observations from a large
multi-center trial. J Vasc Surg 2007; 46:1180-90.
PubMed - Owens CD, Rybicki FJ, Wake N, Schanzer A, Ifantides C,
Mitsouras D, Mulkern RV, Gerhard-Herman MD, Belkin M, Creager MA,
Conte MS. Early remodeling of lower extremity vein
grafts: Inflammation influences biomechanical adaptation. J Vasc
Surg 2008; 47 (6): 1235-1242.
PubMed
In the News
UCSF Vascular Surgery Creates Innovative Center for Limb Preservation
UCSF Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery - Dec 06, 2011The UCSF Division of Vascular & Endovascular Surgery announces the opening of the UCSF Center for Limb Preservation. Led by vascular surgeon Michael S. Conte, M.D. (pictured left), and podiatric surgeon Alexander M. Reyzelman, D.P.M., F.A.C.F.A.S. (pictured right), the Center, the first of its kind in the Bay Area, pools the expertise of vascular surgeons, podiatrists and other specialists to provide integrated, multidisciplinary, care for patients at high risk of foot and leg amputation, particularly diabetic patients. The center treats patients with foot ulceration, peripheral artery disease (PAD) and at risk for developing these conditions. The Center also coordinates care with other UCSF specialists in infectious disease, endocrinology, cardiology, plastic surgery, orthopedics, and rehabilitation. Because foot ulcers are the most common pathway leading to amputation, the team is focused on their treatment, preventing recurrence, and returning patients to independent walking.
First Genetic Biomarker Identified to Predict Long-Term Success of Leg Bypass Surgery
UCSF News - Jun 20, 2011Bypass surgery to repair blocked arteries in the legs leads to more durable and long-lasting results in approximately twenty-percent of patients with two copies of a specific gene variation, one inherited from each parent. The study, co-funded by Vascular Cures and the NIH, was led by Michael S. Conte, M.D., Chief of the Division of Vascular & Endovascular Surgery, and co-director of the Heart and Vascular Center at UCSF and Alexander Clowes, M.D., Professor of Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Conte noted that "this is the first genetic biomarker identified to date that can be used to help predict how durable the restoration of blood flow is likely to be after bypass surgery." Clowes added that the newly identified biomarker, "may help us identify patients at increased risk of treatment failures, and accelerate drug development to prevent re-narrowing of vascular reconstructions."
Aggressive Diagnosis & Medical Management Best for Asymptomatic PAD
UCSF Heart & Vascular Newsletter Winter 2009 Vol. 5 No.1 - Feb 17, 2009Peripheral artery disease (PAD) puts people at increased risk for heart attack, stroke, amputation and other vascular-related conditions, but is significantly underdiagnosed. "These are very vulnerable patients," says Michael S. Conte, MD, chief of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery and one of the country's leading PAD experts. "Most are over 70. Many are diabetics or smokers or both, and have other vascular conditions - and many are asymptomatic. Moreover, the course of the disease in individual patients is unpredictable. That's why physicians must be especially diligent in looking for PAD in at-risk populations."
