V Foundation Grant Will Aid Preeti Subhedar's Effort to Increase Minority Enrollment in Breast Cancer Trials at Grady Hospital

Emory breast surgical oncologist Preeti Subhedar, MD, has provided breast cancer treatment at the AVON Comprehensive Breast Center at Grady Memorial Hospital since joining the Department of Surgery. Her research interest in breast cancer treatment disparities has also found a perfect home at Grady, which largely serves an urban patient population, 85 percent of whom are African American. With the assistance of a new $45k mission grant from the V Foundation for Cancer Research, Dr. Subhedar will begin working towards solving the problem of low levels of participation by African American and Hispanic American women in breast cancer clinical trials.

Emory's Liver Transplant Program Ranks Second in U.S. and First in Georgia

Emory's Liver Transplant Program performed 142 adult liver transplants in calendar year 2016, which makes Emory one of the busiest liver transplant programs in the country. More importantly, according to data from the most recent report of the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR), Emory's liver transplant patients enjoyed the second best one-year graft survival rates in the country, with outcomes rated "significantly better than expected."

Roland Matthews, PI, and Sheryl Gabram, Co-PI, of $2M Merck Foundation Award

Grady Health System's Georgia Cancer Center for Excellence has received a five-year, $2M Merck Foundation Award as part of the new Alliance to Advance Patient-Centered Cancer Care. The Alliance was established to improve timely access to patient-centered care and reduce disparities for vulnerable and underserved populations in the U.S. Roland Matthews, MD, is principal investigator of the grant, and Sheryl Gabram, MD, MBA, is co-principal investigator.

Mehul Raval to Lead AHRQ-Funded Study of Value of Surgical Care at Children's and Non-Children's Hospitals

Pediatric surgeon Mehul Raval, MD (above, left), is principal investigator of a $1.1M grant from the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality that will study the interrelated forces that impact the cost and value of common, routine procedures and care at children's hospitals and non-children's hospitals. His team of experts will include co-investigator and economist Ian McCarthy, PhD (middle), and physician-scientist and academic leader Fred Sanfilippo, MD, PhD (right).

CMS Report Highlights Successes of Emory's eICU

A report created by Abt Associates for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), has found that Emory's eICU innovation program reduced length of patient stays in the ICU, resulted in fewer readmissions, reduced costs by millions of dollars, and helped solve the shortage of intensivists.

Robert Guyton Honored with ACC Award

Robert Guyton, MD, has been awarded the 2017 Presidential Citation by the American College of Cardiology in recognition of his contributions to the cardiovascular profession. "Dr. Guyton's invaluable contributions to the field of cardiovascular medicine show unparalleled dedication to excellence and boundless commitment to improving patient care," says ACC president Richard Chazal, MD. "It is a privilege to be able to honor Dr. Guyton and celebrate his contributions to and achievements in cardiovascular medicine."

New Faculty: Guillermo Escobar

Guillermo Escobar, MD, graduated with honors from La Salle University Medical School in Mexico City, did his general surgery internship at the Mayo Clinic, completed his general surgery residency and an NIH Basic Science Research Fellowship at the University of Colorado, and did his vascular surgery fellowship at the University of Michigan. After serving on U-M's vascular surgery faculty, earning its Arnold G. Coran award for excellence in surgical teaching during his tenure, he joined the University of Arkansas.

Dr. Escobar's Faculty Profile

CSAT's Anatomy of the Male Pelvis App Now Available

"Anatomy of the Male Pelvis," the newest app produced by the Carlos and Davis Center for Surgical Anatomy and Technique (CSAT) of the Emory University School of Medicine, translates the depiction of the complex organization of the male pelvis into a concise, visually engaging, easy-to-use format for teaching, training, and consulting. The app is available for free in Apple's iTunes store for iPad and iPhone.

Emory Surgery Residents Receive Awards at SESC Annual Meeting

Cecilia Ethun, MD (left, with SESC president-elect David Adams, MD), received the Top Medal Gold Presentation Award, a prestigious acknowledgment of excellent research by a young surgeon, at the 2017 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Southeastern Surgical Congress in Nashville. Christopher Nauser, MD, also received a Poster of Distinction Award. Dr. Nauser's abstract was the highest rated of the three that received poster awards.

Congratulations to the Winners of the 16th Annual WCW Symposium

The 2017 Annual William C. Wood Research Symposium showcased the basic and clinical science research of Emory Surgery's students, postdocs, residents, and fellows. Cash awards were given for the first and second place oral presentations in the clinical and basic science categories, as well as awards for the top poster in each category. The winners were Steven Kim, Lauren Postlewait, David Mathews, and Benjamin Flink.

Endosurgery Unit 25 Year Reunion

The Emory Endosurgery Unit held its 25th anniversary reception at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES). The unit was founded in 1991 and led until 2001 by John Hunter, MD, who is now interim dean of the School of Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University, and has one of the longest-standing surgical fellowships in the country for minimally invasive surgery.

Former, current, and future fellows attended the celebration. Pictured from left to right: Roberto Gonzalez, 2001-2003 fellow; Fadi Balla, upcoming 2017-2018 fellow; Mercedeh Baghai, 2002-2004 fellow; Chris Yheulon, upcoming 2017-2018 fellow; Arinbjorn Jonsson, 2016-2017 fellow; Seth Rosen, Emory colorectal surgeon; Lava Patel, 2016-2017 fellow; Steven Bowers, 2000-2002 fellow; Ankit Patel, Emory faculty member, 2012-2013 fellow; John Hunter; Farah Hussain (with her baby), 2010-2011 fellow; Scott Davis, Emory faculty member and unit director; Jamil Stetler, Emory faculty member, 2014-2015 fellow; Sujata Gill, 2014-2015 fellow; and Edward Lin, Emory faculty member, former 2005-2010 unit director, and current unit associate program director.

Stuart Hurst Elected New General Surgery Residency Administrative Chief

As the new administrative chief of the general surgery residency for 2017-2018, the responsibilities of Stuart Hurst, MD, will include providing resident-level administrative support and advice to program director Keith Delman, MD, and generating call and rotation schedules for the majority of the residency. Dr. Hurst received his MD at Emory. During his residency, Dr. Hurst did a two-year transplant immunology research sabbatical at King's College London under the mentorship of Professor Steven Sacks, director of the Medical Research Council Centre for Transplantation at King's, and Professor Tony Dorling, the Centre's deputy director.

Juhee Joyce Kim Receives AST Travel Award

Juhee Joyce Kim, a 4th year Emory medical student being mentored by transplant health services researcher Rachel Patzer, PhD, will attend the 2017 American Transplant Congress with the aid of an American Society of Transplantation Resident/Student Travel Award. This award program targets residents and students who are interested in gaining more exposure to the field of transplantation, and allows awardees to attend the ATC to learn more about transplantation as a career path. Ms. Kim will also present her abstract on dialysis facility providers' awareness of racial disparities in transplant, which is part of a larger randomized effective-implementation study led by Dr. Patzer and nephrologist Stephen Pastan, MD.

Duly Noted

Variety International, a global children's charity, will honor Kirk Kanter, MD, director of the heart transplant program at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, with the 2017 Sir James Carreras Award at its awards dinner on Friday, May 5th, at the Georgia Aquarium. Named for a former president of the organization, the award is presented annually to a physician who has demonstrated exceptional dedication and skill in the field of pediatrics.

David Kooby, MD, chief of Emory Surgery in the Northern Arc (Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital and Emory Johns Creek Hospital), was inducted into the American Surgical Association, has been named associate editor of the pancreas section of the Annals of Surgical Oncology, and has been named program chair for the 2019 Annual Meeting of Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association.

Shishir K. Maithel, MD, director of translational research for the Division of Surgical Oncology, has completed his hard-working tenure as program chair for the 2017 Annual Meeting of Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, held March 29 - April 3 in Miami Beach. The theme of the successful meeting was Securing the Future Through Research, Education and Mentorship, and featured a greater focus on transplant topics, leading speakers from around the world, and forums for spirited debate. One of Dr. Maithel and the programming committee's coups was scheduling Professor Russell Strong to share his experience performing the world's first living donor liver transplant for the annual Blumgart Historical Lecture. Dr. Maithel has also been invited to be program chair for the 2019 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, which is co-sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society for Radiation Oncology, Society of Surgical Oncology, and the American Gastroenterological Association Institute.

Cardiothoracic surgeon-researcher Vinod Thourani, MD, was elected to the board of directors of the Thoracic Surgery Foundation, the research and philanthropic arm of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, from 2017-2020. He was also elected secretary (2017-2020), president-elect (2020-2021), and president (2021-2022) of the International Heart Valve Society. Additionally, Thourani will be the surgical program chair for the 2018 annual scientific meeting of the HVS.

Amy Simone, PA-C, physician assistant and lead valve coordinator for the Structural Heart & Valve Center at Emory University Hospital Midtown, was elected president of the Association of Physician Assistants in Cardiology.

In recognition of Doctors' Day on March 30th, the Emory School of Medicine Recognitions Committee celebrated those physicians who exemplify Emory's outstanding faculty. Among the featured faculty selected by the committee from over 160 peer nominations were Emory Surgery members Andrew Adams, Kenneth Cardona, Edward Chen, Craig Coopersmith, Sheryl Gabram, and Paul Tso. Departmental nominees included Carla Haack, Shishir Maithel, Arvinpal Singh, and Toncred Styblo. Congratulations to all for going above and beyond. View the online presentation at http://2017doctorsday.strikingly.com/.

Recent Faculty Publications

"Inaccurate claims about VA surgical quality might mislead veterans-reply." Johanning JM, ARYA S. JAMA Surg. 2017 Apr 12. [Epub ahead of print]

"The role of postmastectomy radiotherapy in women with pathologic T3N0M0 breast cancer." Cassidy RJ, Liu Y, Kahn ST, Jegadeesh NK, Liu X, SUBHEDAR PD, ARCIERO CA, GILLESPIE TW, Torres MA. Cancer. 2017 Apr 7. [Epub ahead of print]

"Pediatric short bowel syndrome and subsequent development of inflammatory bowel disease: An illustrative case and literature review." Baxter KJ, SRINIVASAN JK, Ziegler TR, Dhere T, RICKETTS RR, DURHAM MM. Pediatr Surg Int. 2017 Apr 4. [Epub ahead of print]

"First-year waitlist hospitalization and subsequent waitlist and transplant outcome." LYNCH RJ, Zhang R, PATZER RE, LARSEN CP, ADAMS AB. Am J Transplant. 2017 Apr;17(4):1031-1041.

"Oncoplastic breast reduction technique and outcomes: An evolution over 20 years." LOSKEN A, Hart AM, Broecker JS, STYBLO TM, CARLSON GW. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2017 Apr;139(4):824e-833e.

Faculty Publication Archives

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