FACULTY NOTES

Dr. Sheryl Gabram was named a 2008 Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Clinician and Scientist. Each year the GCC selects scientists engaged in the most promising areas of cancer research and awards them $50,000 to $150,000 for five years to support their research. Dr. Gabram is currently investigating disparities in care for breast cancer patients and methods for increasing access to quality care.

NEW FACULTY
	Dr. Linda Cendales is the only physician in the U.S. formally trained in both hand surgery and transplant surgery. She helped organize and was part of the Louisville, KY, team that performed the nation's first hand transplants in 1999 and 2001. In addition to being an assistant professor of surgery in the division of plastic and reconstructive surgery, she is the director of the Emory Transplant Center's Laboratory of Microsurgery and Composite Tissue Transplantation (CTA). CTA is the re-transplantation of multiple tissues such as skin, muscle, bone, nerve, and tendon as a functional unit, such as a limb, and Dr. Cendales plans on training the next experts in the procedure. Her team's non-human primate studies in the field are the largest reported in the scientific literature to date.
	An assistant professor in the division of transplantation, Dr. Mandy Ford is continuing the work that she began in the Transplant Immunology Laboratory as a post-doctoral fellow, primarily studying the role of costimulatory pathways in T cell activation. In 2007, Dr. Ford was the recipient of a Young Investigator Award from the American Transplant Congress and presented her research at the ATC national meeting.

November 2007

HEADLINES

Emory Surgeon Provides Skin Cancer Education to DeKalb County Middle Schools
When Emory surgical oncologist Dr. Keith Delman is not in the operating room, he can often be found in front of classrooms full of 11- and 12-year-old children, talking about the dangers of sun exposure and how to prevent... FULL STORY

October 2007

HEADLINE

OMFS Surgeons Give Free Oral Cancer Screenings at NASCAR Race
Faculty and current residents of Emory's division of oral and maxillofacial surgery and Department of Otolaryngology conducted free oral cancer screenings at the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Racing Series and Nextel Cup Series held at... FULL STORY

FACULTY NOTES

At the annual EMS Expo/National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) meeting, the PreHospital Trauma Life Support Division (PHTLS) of NAEMT presented Dr. Jeffrey Salomone with the Dr. Norman E. McSwain, Jr., PHTLS Leadership Award for vision and commitment to the success of the PHTLS program. Dr. Salomone has served as an Associate Medical Director for the program since 1996 and was one of the three editors of the 5th edition of the PHTLS textbook, which sold over 140,000 copies and was published in seven languages, and was the lead editor for the 6th edition of PHTLS, published in August 2006. In its first year, the book sold over 37,000 English copies and agreements were signed for translations into nine foreign languages.

NEW FACULTY
	Joining the division of cardiothoracic surgery as an assistant professor, Dr. Sunil Singhal will direct the division's thoracic surgery oncology research program. He comes to Emory from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, where he completed his fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery as well as a research fellowship in the Cancer Molecular Pathology Training Program.

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September 2007

HEADLINES

Dr. Garland Perdue: 1926–2007
Longtime vascular surgeon and transplant pioneer Dr. Garland D. Perdue passed away on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007. Born March 19, 1926, in the North Georgia town of Clermont and attending school in Gainesville, Dr. Perdue was... FULL STORY

New Option for Heart Valve Replacement Under Study
Cardiothoracic surgeons Drs. Robert Guyton, Vinod Thourani, and Thomas Vassiliades recently began collaborating with interventional cardiologists Drs. Vasilis Babaliaros and Dr. Peter Block in a clinical trial comparing percutaneous aortic... FULL STORY

FACULTY NOTES
	Dr. Sheryl Gabram was featured on the Winship Cancer Institute page of ABC News.com's On Call section on breast cancer. She described her collaborative study with Georgia Technology Research Institute examining breath biomarkers in exhaled specimens as a potential tool for breast cancer disease detection and monitoring.

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August 2007

HEADLINE

Dr. John Sweeney Appointed Chief of General and GI Surgery
The Department of Surgery at Emory University School of Medicine is proud to announce the appointment of John F. Sweeney, MD, as Acting Professor and Chief of the Division of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery. Dr. Sweeney received his... FULL STORY

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July 2007

HEADLINES

Melanoma Program Designated a Center of Excellence
The Melanoma Program based at the Winship Cancer Institute has been recognized as one of the first Melanoma Centers of Excellence named by the Melanoma Hope Network. MHN seeks to recognize those melanoma treatment centers and doctors across the... FULL STORY

Society of Surgical Oncology approves Emory's Breast Cancer Fellowship Program
Dr. Radha G. Iyengar joined the division of surgical oncology as Emory's first matched fellow in its one-year, multi-disciplinary clinical fellowship in breast cancer, directed by Dr. Sheryl Gabram. Emory is one of only 33 institutions in the U.S. with a breast cancer fellowship that is in the process of being approved by the Society of Surgical Oncology — once a program successfully passes an inspection that will be done in the next three years, it will be considered an official "SSO-approved training program." The program's mission is to teach evidenced based clinical care, encourage inquiry with a research focused approach, and develop leadership skills for future career opportunities and growth.

FACULTY NOTES
	Dr. Theresa Gillespie was appointed associate director of the Winship Cancer institute.
	The following Department of Surgery faculty were listed in Atlanta Magazine's 2007 installment of Atlanta's Top Doctors, compiled by the New York-based research firm Castle Connally Medical Ltd.: Elliott Chaikof, MD, PhD; Sheryl Gabram, MD; T. Roderick Hester, MD; Daniel Miller, MD; Joseph Miller Jr., MD; Kenneth Newell, MD, PhD; Richard Ricketts, MD; William Wood, MD; and Mark Wulkan, MD.

NEW FACULTY
	The department is pleased to welcome Dr. Erica Anderson to the division of plastic surgery and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Anderson was previously at the division of plastic and reconstructive surgery, University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center, and her clinical interests include breast surgery, microsurgical breast reconstruction, body contouring after weight loss, and wound care.

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June 2007

HEADLINES

Dr. Vega Implants Georgia's First Heartmate II Device
Dr. David Vega and his surgical team recently implanted Georgia's first HeartMate II 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... FULL STORY

First Lap-Band Procedure Performed at Egleston by Dr. Wulkan
Dr. Mark Wulkan performed the first pediatric Lap-Band® procedure ever done at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston on June 21, 2007. The 17-year-old patient is home and recovering well... FULL STORY

FACULTY NOTES
	Dr. Karthikeshwar Kasirajan was appointed to chair the Division of Vascular Surgery of the U.S. Section of the International College of Surgeons.
	Dr. Martin Steed has received a $100,000 Faculty Educator Development Award from the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Foundation for his pursuit of excellence in oral and maxillofacial surgery education and training. Dr. Steed plans to use the funds to promote research and training projects involving microsurgical nerve repair and simulated surgical education.
	Dr. Thomas Vassiliades was elected treasurer, International Society for Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery.

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May 2007

HEADLINES

Emory Living Donor Transplant Program featured in AJC Article
In recognition of Mother's Day, the Atlanta Journal Constitution ran a feature on May 13 that focused on Georgia mothers who had donated either a kidney or a portion of their liver to be transplanted into one of their children. All of the procedures were... FULL STORY

Dr. Allan Kirk Joins the Emory Transplant Center
Coming to Emory from the NIH, where he was a senior investigator and the founding chief of the Transplantation Branch at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Allan Kirk, MD, PhD, is the new scientific director of... FULL STORY

FACULTY NOTES
	For his outstanding work as a trauma surgeon at Grady Memorial Hospital, Dr. Jeffrey Salomone received the 2007 Physician Hero Award from the Atlanta Business Chronicle, which presents annual Health Care Heroes awards in six categories. In his 11 years at Grady, Dr. Salomone has been involved in high-profile trauma events, including the 1996 Olympic Park bombing, the Buckhead day trader shootings, the 2005 Atlanta courthouse shootings, and the Bluffton University bus crash. He sees 150-200 injured police officers a year in his voluntary role as police surgeon.
	Dr. William Wood was a recipient of the 2007 Statesman Award of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
	Dr. Mark Wulkan was appointed vice-chair of the Incidence Monitoring Committee, American Pediatric Surgical Association.
	Dr. Lily Yang was appointed to the Synergistic Idea Awards Panel, Breast Cancer Research Program, Department of Defense.

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April 2007

HEADLINES

Emory Surgeons Perform Innovative Breast Cancer Surgery
Emory surgical oncologist Dr. Toncred Styblo and plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Albert Losken are among a select group of surgeons performing oncoplastic breast-conserving surgery. Developed primarily in... FULL STORY

Dr. Christian Larsen Awarded the 2007 Starzl Prize in Surgery and Immunology
Dr. Christian Larsen, the Carlos and Marguerite Mason Professor of Surgery and founding director of the Emory Transplant Center, was officially awarded the 2007 Thomas E. Starzl Prize in Surgery and Immunology on Saturday, April 21, at the... FULL STORY

Dr. Steven Roser Leads Surgical Mission to Ecuador
From April 21-29, 2007, Dr. Steven Roser, chief of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Emory, led a volunteer team of surgeons, anesthesiologists, pediatric dentists and other medical personnel on a mission to Guayaquil, Ecuador. Working with... FULL STORY

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March 2007

HEADLINES

JDRF Awards $2.5 Million to Emory Transplant Center
There is a vast gap between the number of islets available for transplant and the millions of people with Type 1 diabetes who could potentially benefit from islet replacement. To address this problem, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) has... FULL STORY

Emory Algorithm Improves Kidney Transplant Chances for Sensitized Patients
Approximately one-third of the patients on the national waiting list for kidney transplants have only a small chance of receiving a new organ, no matter how long they are on the list. Due to prior transplants, pregnancies or blood transfusions, these patients... FULL STORY

FACULTY NOTES
	In addition to being elected to the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (COT), Dr. Jeffrey Salomone was appointed to chair the Emergency Services/Prehospital Subcommittee of the COT as well as serve on its Executive Committee.
	Dr. Martin Steed was elected cice president of the International Association of Dental Research and the American Association of Dental Research.
	Dr. Lily Yang will be a grant reviewer for the National Medical Research Council of Singapore.

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February 2007

HEADLINES

Speaker Confirmed for 6th Annual Department of Surgery Research Day
Frank W. Sellke, MD, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, will be the distinguished visiting professor for the 6th Annual Department of Surgery Research Day, May 17, 2007. He will present... FULL STORY

Emory Rated Eighth Best Institution to Work for Postdocs
In an annual survey conducted by The Scientist magazine, Emory placed eighth in the magazine's "Best Places to Work for Postdocs" national listing, marking the second year in a row that Emory has ranked in the survey's top ten. Of the 11 categories covered by the survey, the most important factor was the quality of training and career preparation offered by the institution. Emory employs nearly 600 post-docs in labs in the School of Medicine, Rollins School of Public Health, the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, at Yerkes National Primate Research Center, in the Emory College and in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. These employment opportunities help young PhD life science graduates launch their careers and provide an invaluable resource in advancing research at Emory.

FACULTY NOTES
	Dr. T. Roderick Hester was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
	Dr. Grace Rozycki became president-elect of the Western Trauma Association.

NEW FACULTY
	Dr. Kenneth Franco comes from the University of Illinois College of Medicine; has been listed in such publications as America's Top Surgeons and Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare; and has clinical and research interests in aortic and mitral valve surgery, endovascular stent grafts and new devices and techniques for myocardial revascularization.
	Dr. Neal Iwakoshi received his PhD in immunology and virology from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and completed a three-year research fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is expected to contribute to the enhancement and expansion of the transplant immunology program at Emory.
	Prior to her appointment, Dr. Nicole Turgeon was an assistant professor of surgery at the division of organ transplantation, University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Her interests include adult and pediatric kidney transplants, pancreas transplants, laparoscopic living-donor nephrectomy and issues pertaining to immune response.

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January 2007

HEADLINE

The World's First Convertible Ultrasound System™ Installed in the Emory Noninvasive Vascular Lab
ZONARE Medical Systems, a developer of next generation ultrasound technology, recently installed the company's z.one ultrasound system at the Emory Noninvasive Vascular Laboratory of the Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy. Based on revolutionary Zone Sonography™ technology, the z.one system is... FULL STORY

FACULTY NOTES
	Dr. Charles Staley was appointed an associate examiner for the American Board of Surgery; an ad hoc member of Grant Review Subcommittee H, National Cancer Institute; and a member of the Foregut Staging Committee, American Joint Committee on Cancer.
	Dr. Toncred Styblo was also appointed an associate examiner for the American Board of Surgery.

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