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Darren J. Malinoski, M.D.
Surgeon

Darren J. Malinoski, M.D., specializes in surgery for traumatically injured and critically ill patients. His expertise includes the resuscitation of acutely injured patients, emergency general surgery, burn surgery and surgical critical care. In addition to his work as a member of the UC Irvine’s trauma/critical care and burn center team, Malinoski also serves as the director of both the Surgical Intensive Care Unit and the surgical stepdown unit. Dr. Malinoski is also extremely involved in research and teaching activities.

One of his main areas of clinical and academic interest surrounds the processes of brain death and organ donation. As a trauma surgeon, a critical care physician, and chair of the Organ Donor Council, he has the unique opportunity to take care of severely brain-injured patients, oversee their intensive care, provide compassionate end-of-life care to family members, manage the unstable physiology of brain death when patients’ injuries cannot be reversed and assist the local organ procurement organization in the successful recovery of organs for donation when patients and their families wish to give the “gift of life” to individuals with end-stage organ disease.

“This is one of the most gratifying parts of my job,” says Dr. Malinoski. “It enables me to help families find some solace in the setting of an acute tragedy. Many people find comfort in being able to turn their loved ones’ deaths into a second chance for life for somebody else.” The true reward, however, comes when he receives a letter describing the patients who received the organs and how their lives have benefitted from his efforts.

Dr. Malinoski’s other areas of research interest include deep venous thrombosis prevention, nosocomial infection prevention, performance improvement measures in the surgical intensive care unit (SICU), rhabdomyolysis and hemorrhagic shock. He is actively involved in both clinical and basic science research projects and hopes to obtain independent, competitive grant funding in the near future.

A dedicated and respected educator, Dr. Malinoski has been honored with several teaching awards during his career, most recently with the 2007 UC Irvine School of Medicine Award for Excellence in Teaching.

“Teaching is the core of medicine,” says Dr. Malinoski, “not only for young physicians who are in training, but also for nurses, patients, and their families.” He is currently mentoring ten undergraduate and post-graduate students in a year-long clinical research project in the SICU.

“It is deeply satisfying to watch these students grow and develop into young scientists and future doctors,” he says.

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