12/2006

10/2006

8/2006

6/2006

4/2006

2/2006

11/2006

9/2006

7/2006

5/2006

3/2006

1/2006

 December 2006

Faculty Notes

• Dr. Grace Rozycki was elected president of the Georgia Chapter of the American College of Surgeons.
  

 November 2006

Faculty Notes

• On WSB-ABC Atlanta, 11/28/06, Dr. T. Roderick Hester was interviewed on the FDA's approval of silicone breast implants. He was also featured in an article in the 11/24/06 edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution focusing on the implications of the FDA's decision to end a 14-year virtual ban on the use of silicone gel implants. Dr. Hester predicted that more women would seek breast augmentation now that silicone is again available.

 October 2006

Faculty Notes

• Dr. C. Daniel Smith and Dr. Leena Khaitan have left the Department of Surgery, Dr. Smith for a position as chair of the Department of Surgery at The Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, and Dr. Khaitan to direct both the bariatric program and minimally invasive services at a Case Western Reserve affiliate hospital. Dr. Smith came to Emory in 1996; was chief of the Division of General and GI Surgery, 1998-2006; director of the Emory Bariatric Center, 2000-2004; director of the Emory Endosurgery Unit, 2001-2006; and director of Emory Simulation, Training and Robotics (ESTAR), 2003-2006. Dr. Khaitan joined the department in 2002 and co-directed the Emory Bariatric Center from 2004-2006.
  
  
• Dr. Jose Avila, formerly associate director of the islet transplant program of the University of Illinois, Chicago, joined Emory as scientific director of the cell and tissue processing laboratory of the Emory Transplant Center.
  
  
• Dr. Sheryl Gabram described the diagnosis and current treatment of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) in a 10/12/06 feature on CNN.com.
  
  
• The 2006 William J. Gies Foundation Award was presented to Dr. Steven M. Roser during the opening ceremony of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons 88th annual meeting in San Diego, California, October 4, 2006. The award honors a fellow or member of the AAOMS for distinguished achievements in oral and maxillofacial surgery. In Dr. Roser's case, the award was in recognition of a career dedicated to training the next generation of oral and maxillofacial surgeons as well as to repairing the faces and lives of patients in both the U.S. and in third-world countries around the globe.
  
  
• Dr. J. David Vega was appointed to the American College of Surgeons Advisory Council for Cardiothoracic Surgery (American Society of Transplant Surgeons representative).
  
  
• Dr. Mark Wulkan was one of various experts who discussed the nation's growing childhood obesity problem in an article printed in the Atlanta Journal Constitution and other newspapers on 10/19/06 entitled "Overweight Kids Getting Grownup Diseases.

return to top

 September 2006

Headline

Department of Surgery Ranks 8th in NIH Support
The National Institute of Health's recently published departmental rankings for 2005 placed the Department of Surgery at 8th in the nation in NIH awards support. Overall, Emory ranked 22nd in NIH support among... FULL STORY

Faculty Notes

• Dr. David Feliciano began serving his 2006-2007 term as president of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma.

return to top

 August 2006

Headline

Dr. Robert B. Smith Retires
Dr. Robert B. Smith III, whose Emory-based career spanned almost four decades, retired from his post as medical director of Emory University Hospital and associate chair of the Department of Surgery at Emory University on August 31, 2006. A vascular... FULL STORY

return to top

 July 2006

Headlines

Dr. Lattouf and Dr. Guyton Co-Chair Inaugural AIMS Summit on Biotherapeutics and Medical Designs
More than 800 physicians, inventors, lawyers, venture capitalists and company representatives from all over the world are expected to attend the first-ever American International Medical Summit on Biotherapeutics and Medical Designs (AIMS on BioDesign), to be held... FULL STORY

Gifted High Schoolers Experience Surgical Simulation Training at ESTAR
On Wednesday, July 5, 2006, The Emory Simulation, Training and Robotics Center (ESTAR) hosted three groups of gifted high school seniors/aspiring surgeons, who toured the facility, were able to sample its state of the art surgical simulator training equipment and had the opportunity to try... FULL STORY

Faculty Notes

• Dr. Elliot Chaikof was appointed chair of the Immunology of Transplantation Study Section, NIH.
  
  
• Dr. David Feliciano was appointed chair of the General Surgery Residency Review Committee, American Board of Surgery, through June 2007.
  
  
• Dr. Chris Larsen and Dr. Tom Pearson received the Roche Award from the Transplantation Society for excellence in translational science during the World Transplant Congress in Boston this past July. The award recognizes individuals for outstanding contributions in transplantation and for making a major international impact in the field of transplantation. Both surgeons specialize in islet, kidney, and pancreatic transplant, and both are working to develop strategies to induce permanent immune tolerance to transplanted organs in humans.
  
  
• Dr. J. David Vega was appointed chair of the OPTN/UNOS Thoracic Organ Transplantation Committee of the United Network for Organ Sharing.
  
  
• New faculty: The department is pleased to welcome Dr. Gary Bouloux, Dr. Megan Durham, Dr. Cullen Morris, Dr. Jyotirmay Sharma and Dr. Ravi Veeraswamy to the faculty.
  
  After doing his oral and maxillofacial surgery residency at Westmead Hospital Dental Clinical School, Sydney, Australia, Dr. Bouloux did his oral and maxillofacial surgery fellowship and received his MD at Emory.
  
  Upon completing her pediatric surgery fellowship at Emory in 2006, Dr. Durham joined the faculty.
  
  Dr. Morris did a fellowship in cardiopulmonary transplantation and mechanical circulatory support at the Texas Heart Institute following the completion of his cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at Emory.
  
  Dr. Sharma is also an Emory alumnus, having done his general surgery residency and endocrine surgery fellowship here, and has clinical interests in thyroid and parathyroid surgery, adrenal gland surgery, pancreatic endocrine tumors, gastrointestinal surgery and hernia repair.
  
  Dr. Veeraswamy completed his vascular surgery fellowship at the Washington University School of Medicine and specializes in carotid stenting, carotid endarterectomy, aortic aneurysms, thoracic outlet syndrome and peripheral vascular disease.

return to top

 June 2006

Headline

New Outpatient Transplant Clinic Expands Capacity and Services
On June 21, 2006, Dr. Christian Larsen, director of the Emory Transplant Center, presided over the dedication of the new Mason Outpatient Transplant Clinic on the 6th floor of Emory Clinic Building B. Tripling the size of the transplant clinic’s former... FULL STORY

Faculty Notes

• Dr. Elliot Chaikof was guest editor of the June 2006 edition of Seminars in Vascular Surgery, Endovascular Therapy: Current Status.
  
  
• Dr. Thomas Heffron was a finalist in the Physician Hero category of the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s annual Health-Care Heroes awards.
  
  
• Dr. John Puskas was elected vice president of the International Society for Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery. He will serve until June 2007. Dr. Puskas was also appointed Chair of the Annual Meeting Tech-Con Task Force, Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
  
  
• Dr. Martin Steed was appointed secretary/treasurer for 2007 of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery International Association of Dental Research/Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery American Association of Dental Research.
  
  
• Dr. Mark Wulkan was appointed co-chair of the Education Committee, International Pediatric Endosurgery Group.

return to top

 May 2006

Faculty Notes

• Dr. David Feliciano was voted the Best Clinical Attending by Emory's Medical Class of 2006 (30th teaching award), was presented with the Evangeline Papageorge Distinguished Teaching Award of the Emory Medical Alumni Association (31st teaching award), received the J. Richard Amerson Teaching Award from Emory's surgical chief residents (32nd teaching award), and was listed in the 2006 Guide to America's Top Surgeons of the Consumers' Research Council of America.
  
  
• Dr. Sheryl Gabram was listed in the 2006 edition of America's Top Doctors, Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.
  
  
• Dr. John Galloway was listed in the 2006 Guide to America's Top Surgeons of the Consumers' Research Council of America.
  
  
• Dr. Toncred Styblo was selected for the 2006 editions of Best Doctors in America and America's Top Surgeons.
  
  
• Dr. Mark Wulkan was appointed chair of the Pediatric Obesity Committee and vice-chair of the Informatics Committee, American Pediatric Surgical Association.

return to top

 April 2006

Headlines

Retired Emory Surgeon Dr. Roger Sherman Passes Away
On April 9, 2006, Roger T. Sherman, MD, passed away at his home. He was 82. From 1983 to 1993, Dr. Sherman was the chief of surgery and director of the trauma and burn services at Grady Memorial Hospital. He then served as... FULL STORY

Dr. Paul Krishbom and Others Embark on Siberian Medical Mission
Heart to Heart, a non-profit organization based in Oakland, California, that develops self-sustaining pediatric cardiac care programs in Russia, has recruited and is sponsoring a team of medical volunteers from the... FULL STORY

Dr. Steven Roser Leads Surgical Mission to Ecuador
From April 22-30, 2006, Dr. Steven Roser, chief of the division of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Emory, led a volunteer team of 38 surgeons, anesthesiologists, pediatric dentists and other medical personnel on a mission to... FULL STORY

General Surgery and Endosurgery Faculty and Fellows Make Strong Showing at Spring Meetings
Faculty and fellows of the Division of Gastrointestinal and General Surgery and the Emory Endosurgery Unit made significant contributions to Digestive Diseases Week 2006 and Surgical Spring Week 2006, the latter being... FULL STORY

Dr. Dan Smith Presents Clinical Trial Results Underscoring the Efficacy of Halo Ablation Systems for Barrett’s Esophagus
On April 26, 2006, Dr. C. Daniel Smith presented the results of the study entitled "Endoscopic Ablation of Intestinal Metaplasia with High-Grade Dysplasia in Esophagectomy Patients using a Balloon-based Ablation System" at the plenary session of SAGES Annual Meeting in Dallas. Dr. Smith’s presentation was one of four... FULL STORY

Faculty Notes

• Dr. Leena Khaitan was awarded the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) 2006 Annual "Young Researcher Award," which encourages young surgeons to continue their interest and investigation in minimal access surgery and is presented for excellence in endoscopic surgical research to a SAGES member who is either in surgical training or who has completed training within the last five years.
  
  
• Dr. Kenneth Newell was appointed to the faculty of the Expert Faculty Resource Service of the American Society of Transplantation — a service of the AST that provides expert speakers in selected areas of transplantation for the purpose of medical education independent of the pharmaceutical industry.
  

return to top

 March 2006 

Headline

Endosurgery Unit Receives Grant to Support Endoluminal Research
Dr. Edward Lin, Associate Director of the Emory Endosurgery Fellowship, was instrumental in securing a $50,000 Fellowship Grant from Boston Scientific that will be used to support an endosurgery fellow whose dedicated... FULL STORY

return to top

 February 2006

Headlines

Porcine Islet Cells Offer Promise for Human Diabetic Patients
Islet cell xenotransplantation presents a promising near-term solution to the critically low islet cell supply for humans suffering from type 1 diabetes, according to researchers from the Emory Transplant Center, the Yerkes... FULL STORY

Emory Cardiothoracic Surgeons Implant Ventricular Device as Alternative to Heart Transplant
Cardiothoracic surgeons of the Department of Surgery recently implanted Georgia's first ventricular assist device (VAD) as a form of destination therapy (in place of a donor transplant) for individuals who are not eligible for — or unwilling to undergo — a heart transplant. The six-hour procedure was performed... FULL STORY

Faculty Notes

• Dr. S. Scott Davis was elected to the Publications Committee and Fellowship Council Committee of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons.
  
  
• Edward Lin, DO, was interviewed on WEBMd about weight loss drugs that are close to being approved but are not yet on the market.

return to top

 January 2006

Headlines

JDRF Center for Islet Transplantation Receives $8.5 Million Grant
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Center for Islet Transplantation at Emory received new five-year funding from JDRF of nearly $8.5 million in January. The primary goal of the Center is to advance islet transplantation... FULL STORY

New Center to Speed Development of Innovative Patient Care Products and Procedures
"The key mission of the Center for Device Innovation is to streamline the process at Emory so that scientific discoveries can lead to therapeutic products that benefit patients," says cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Omar Lattouf, the newly appointed director of... FULL STORY

Dr. Sheryl Gabram Joins the Division of Surgical Oncology
Sheryl Gabram, MD, MBA, has joined the division of surgical oncology as Professor of Surgery. She will also direct the Avon Breast Cancer Center as well as Oncologic Services at the Georgia Cancer Center of Excellence. Both programs are part... FULL STORY

Emory General Surgeon Trains Colleagues in France by Telerobotics
While peering directly behind surgeons practicing an advanced laparoscopic procedure in Strasbourg, France, C. Daniel Smith, MD, recently conducted one of the world's first telerobotic surgical training sessions from his office in... FULL STORY

Faculty Notes

• Dr. Grant Carlson was invited to be a senior examiner of the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
  
  
• Shyam Rele, PhD, a faculty researcher in the division of vascular surgery, was selected as one of the most Promising Early-Career Scientists by the American Chemical Society (ACS) to represent the United States in the bilateral U.S.-Indo workshop Advances in Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, held in India in January, 2006.
  
  
• Dr. Toncred Styblo will serve as scientist peer reviewer in 2006 for the Council for Extramural Grants and Lymphedema Research Committee, American Cancer Society.

return to top