N e w s l e t t e r

A ssociation for Academic Surgery • W I N T E R 20 0 6/07
New sl e t ter
Pr e si de n t ’ s M e s s ag e - Dec . 2 0 0 6
Dr. Siobhan Corbet
“In the past
eighteen months,
the number of active
AAS members
has jumped
nearly 20%!”
In this Issue
President’s Message
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Institutional Representative
Focus: Alan Dackiw
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Become An AAS
Institutional Rep!
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In the past eighteen months, the number of active AAS members has
jumped nearly 20%! This remarkable recruitment of young academic
surgeons into the Association can be attributed to several factors.
First, the AAS’s growth reflects the health and the dynamic nature of
the organization. We have taken the lead among surgical societies in
developing a career-training program for surgery residents, fellows and
new faculty who are interested in pursuing academic careers. Further,
we have established ourselves as an organization that encourages and
actively recruits member participation on committees and in executive
positions. The success of these directives has been readily apparent in
the activities of the AAS Institutional Representatives. The Institutional
Representative program was re-introduced in 2005 by the Membership
Committee, led by Chairs, Jeff Upperman and more recently, Peter
Nelson. Jeff and Peter proposed that the AAS reach out to active
Dr. Siobhan Corbett
members who were located at academic centers around the country.
Over time, these members have served as a clearinghouse for information regarding AAS activities and have
actively focused on the local recruitment of young faculty. They have encouraged young surgeons in their
departments to consider the benefits of AAS membership by keeping them appraised of AAS programs
and up-coming events. In recognition of their efforts, there will be a special invitation for the Institutional
Representatives at an AAS-sponsored breakfast this February in Phoenix. In addition, we will focus the
remainder of the newsletter on providing you with specific information about this valuable program and
introducing you to one of our top recruiters! I look forward to seeing you all in Phoenix.
I nst it u t iona l R epr e se n tat i v e Focus :
A l a n D a c k i w, M D , P h D
“Just Get the Word Out”
By Peter Nelson, MD, Membership Committee Chair
Johns Hopkins stood out in the most recent round of new applications
and acceptances to Membership of the AAS across both full member
and candidate member categories. This is in large part due to
the outstanding efforts of Dr. Alan Dackiw the Johns Hopkins
Institutional Representative to the AAS.
AAS Elections Process
for 2007
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Alan is Assistant Professor of Surgery at Johns Hopkins University in
the Division of Surgical Oncology, Section of Endocrine Surgery. He
completed general surgical training and his PhD at the University of
Toronto, surgical oncology fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center,
and endocrine surgery fellowship at UCSF. His clinical interest is in
endocrine tumor surgery including surgery of the adrenal, thyroid,
ASC Registration Reminder
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AAS Research Awards
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Alan Dackiw, MD, PhD
Continued…
parathyroid and endocrine pancreas. His research interests include endocrine tumor genetics, familial tumor syndromes, and endocrine organ
development and neoplasia in animal models of disease.
Like most of us, Alan was first introduced to the collegial research environment of the AAS by his research mentor Dr. Ori Rotstein, an active
member who regularly submitted papers and took his residents to the annual meeting. The AAS was one of the first meetings at which Alan, as a
resident, had the opportunity to present his research. He was presented a research award in recognition for his efforts. What he appreciates most
about the AAS is that it has introduced him to many peers with whom he remains friends and colleagues today.
Alan was eager when asked to accept the responsibility of Institutional Representative. He felt it to be a great opportunity to recruit new members
to the AAS so that they might benefit from the organization in the same way that he has. His strategy to recruitment is simple but effective. He
“just gets the word out”. He has used the hospital based e-mail system to reach out to all faculty and residents with information about the AAS and
its activities. He also makes frequent announcements and circulates brochures and information at Johns Hopkins’ weekly grand rounds conference.
Finally, he feels the strong endorsement and support of his activities and the AAS on the part of his Department Chair, Dr. Julie Freischlag, and
Vice-Chair Dr. Steven Leach have been critical to the success of his efforts. With this approach, the response on the part of junior faculty and
surgical trainees has been uniformly positive.
Alan is fully supportive of the recruitment of subspecialty surgeons, PhD researchers in surgery, and even more clinically oriented faculty, to enhance
the diversity of AAS Membership. To this end, he has expanded his email announcements to include all related Departments and Sections across
the University. Furthermore, he is excited to include medical students with an interest in surgery into his recruitment strategy. He feels it will help
to identify appropriate students at an early stage to get them exposed to surgical mentors and involved in research to showcase how the AAS can help
them achieve their goals. With changes in training paradigms, students are being asked earlier and earlier to make important career decisions and
this exposure will prove critical.
In closing, Alan feels that access to a group e-mail list is very important and a captive audience at Department wide conferences provides an
opportunity for a personal touch. The AAS Fundamentals of Research Course and the Faculty Development Course have proven to be very useful
introductions to the AAS and response to these courses from attendees from Johns Hopkins has been very positive.
Please join me in congratulating Alan, as well as all of the AAS Institutional Representatives, on an outstanding job over the last two years. We
look forward to recognizing these individuals at the Academic Surgical Congress in February. Their efforts have lead to record increases in AAS
Membership and I encourage everyone to use them as examples in their own recruiting efforts.
Regards,
Peter R. Nelson, MD
Chair, Membership Committee
B e c o m e a n AAS I n s t i t u t i o n a l R e p !
The term of service for the current set of AAS institutional reps will conclude after the February 2007 Academic Surgical Congress. The next term
will run from 2007-2009. If you are currently an institutional rep, you will be asked to nominate another member from your institution to serve or
to volunteer to serve another term. If you are not a rep but would be interested in serving, please talk to your current institutional rep (see the listing
below.) If your institution does not have a rep, please volunteer to serve by contacting the AAS Membership Department ([email protected] or
310-437-1606 ext 108.)
AAS 2 0 0 5 - 2 0 0 7 I n s t i t u t i o n a l R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s
Joseph Mills, MD
Oluyinka Olutoye, MD, PhD
Daniel Jones, MD
Suresh Agarwal, MD
Selwyn Rogers, MD, MPH
Walter Biffl, MD
Toan Huynh, MD
Michael Zdon, MD
Cynthia Gingalewski, MD
Leila Mureebe, MD
Roberta Sonnino, MD, FACS
Dev Desai, MD, PhD
Arizona Health Sciences Center
Baylor College of Medicine
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston University School of Medicine
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Brown Medical School
Carolinas Medical Center
Chicago Medical School at Rosalind
Franklin Univ of Medicine and Science
Children’s National Medical Center
Columbia University
Creighton University School of Medicine
Duke University Medical Center
Edward Lin, DO
Neri Cohen, MD, PhD
Sophie Dessureault, MD
Mokenge Malafa, MD
Christopher Steffes, MD
Vinod Narra, MD
Omaida Velazquez, MD
Daniel Meldrum, MD
Kenric Murayama, MD
Alan Dackiw, MD, PhD
Guiseppe Nigri, MD, PhD
Quyen Chu, MD
Emory University School of Medicine
Greater Baltimore Medical Center
H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
Harper Hospital
Henry Ford Hospital
Hospital of University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University School of Medicine
John A Burns School of Medicine
Univiversity of Hawaii
Johns Hopkins Surgery
La Sapienza University
LHUHSC Shreveport
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William Gunnar, MD
Loyola
Tommy Brown, MD
Madigan Army Medical Center
Rebecca Wolfer, MD
Marshall University School of Medicine
Hasan Alam, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard
Medical School
Michael Sarr, MD
Mayo Clinic
Thomas Wang, MD, PhD
Medical College of Georgia
Karen Brasel, MD
Medical College of Wisconsin
Nestor Esnaola, MD
Medical University of South Carolina
Chris Tzarnas, MD
Mercy Catholic Medical Center
John Moawad, MD
MetroHealth Medical Center / Case Western
Reserve Universtiy
Steven Stylianos, MD
Miami Children’s Hospital
John Kepros, MD
Michigan State University
Janet Meller, MD
Midwest Pediatric Surgical Assoc
Celia Divino, MD
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
John Renz, MD, PhD
New York Presbyterian Hospital
Vivienne Halpern, MD
North Shore LIJ Health System/ Li Campus
of Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Melina Kibbe, MD
Northwestern University
William Carson, MD
Ohio State University
Martin Schreiber, MD, FACS Oregon Health Sciences University
Osbert Blow, MD, PhD
Overland Park Regional Medical Center
Kevin Staveley-O’Carroll, MD, PhD Pennsylvania State College of Medicine
Maureen Chung, MD
Rhode Island Hospital
James Alexander, MD
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Ashwani Rajput, MD
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Robert Higgins, MD
Rush Presbyterian St Luke’s Medical Center
Ronald Chamberlain, MD
Saint Barnabus Medical Center
Christopher Marsh, MD
Scripps Clinic and The Scripps
Research Institute
Jacquelyn Quin, MD
Southern Illinois University
Christine Finck, MD
St Christopher’s Hospital
Eddy Hsueh, MD
St Louis University
Marc Pelletier, MD
Stanford Medical
Gregory Cherr, MD
State University of New York at Buffalo
David Rivadeneira, MD
Stony Brook Health Sciences Center
School of Medicine
Michael Zenilman, MD
SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Carl Weiss, MD, PhD
SUNY Upstate Medical University
David Gorski, MD
The Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Emily Robinson, MD
The University of Texas
Health Science Center Houston
Paul DiMuzio, MD
Thomas Jefferson University
Oliver Bathe, MD
Tom Baker Cancer Centre
Sander Florman, MD
Tulane University
Jorge De la Torre, MD
UAB Division of Plastic Surgery
Clarence Foster, MD
UCI Medical Center
James Dunn, MD, PhD
UCLA Medical Center
Mark Sawicki, MD
UCLA Medical Center
Hiroomi Tada, MD, PhD
UMass Medical School
Alicia Mohr, MD
UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School
Vinay Gupta, MD
Union Memorial Hospital
Randeep Jawa, MD
University at Buffalo
Sonia Ramamoorthy, MD
Brian Cmolik, MD
Scott Wilhelm, MD
Ronda Henry-Tillman, MD
Hung Ho, MD
Mahesh Mankani, MD
Alessandro Fichera, MD
Timothy Pritts, MD, PhD
Christopher Raeburn, MD
Wayne Frederick, MD
Elizabeth Beierle, MD
Peter Nelson, MD
N. Joseph Espat, MD, MS
Kimberly Ephgrave, MD
Joseph Cullen, MD
Andrew Bernard, MD
Glen Franklin, MD
Patricia Turner, MD
Carl Schulman, MD
Rebecca Minter, MD
Daniel Saltzman, MD, PhD
John Gosche, MD
William Cirocco, MD, FACS
Bruce Cairns, MD
Diane Rhoden, MD
Michael de Vera, MD
Rabih Salloum, MD
Joseph LoCicero, MD
Richard Bell, MD
Oscar Grandas, MD
Atul Madan, MD
Brian Daley, MD
Fiemu Nwariaku, MD
Daniel Vargo, MD
Ted James, MD
Joseph Cuschieri, MD
Herbert Chen, MD, FACS
Steven Trocha, MD
Jonathan Jaffin, MD
Juliane Bingener-Casey, MD
Nipun Merchant, MD
Shaikh Hai, MD, FICS
J. Perren Cobb, MD
Alan Dardik, MD, PhD
University College San Diego
University Hospital of Cleveland
University Hospitals of Cleveland
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
University of California Davis
Medical Center
University of California San Francisco
University of Chicago
University of Cincinnati
University of Colorado Health
Sciences Center
University of Connecticut Health Center
University of Florida
University of Florida College of Medicine
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Iowa Carver
College of Medicine
University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
University of Louisville
University of Maryland
University of Miami School of Medicine
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota Medical School
University of Mississippi Medical Center
University of Missouri-Kansas City
School of Medicine
University of North Carolina
University of Oklahoma College
of Medicine, Tulsa
University of Pittsburgh
University of Rochester Medical Center
University of South Alabama
University of South Carolina
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
University of Tennessee Health
Science Center
University of Tennessee Medical Center
University of Texas Southwestern
Medical Center
University of Utah
University Of Vermont
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin
Upstate Surgical Specialists
US Army
UT Health Science Center-San Antonio
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Wake Medical Center
Washington University in St. Louis
Yale University School of Medicine
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AAS E l e c t i o n P r o c e s s f o r 2 0 0 7
Membership
applications can be
submitted online at
www.aasurg.org
Please remind your
colleagues, residents
and friends.
Reminder that the nomination and election process for the AAS has been enhanced to allow for
nominations to occur prior to the annual meeting. Please visit the election page, www.aasurg.org/
elections2007.php for more information.
ASC REGISTRATION R e m i n d e r
Register now for the 2nd Annual Academic Surgical Congress to be held February 6-9, 2007 at the
Phoenix Convention Center in downtown Phoenix, Arizona.
Register online today at: http://www.academicsurgicalcongress.org/registration
The Academic Surgical Congress is designed to provide three days of comprehensive continuing education
in academic surgery. It is the intent of both the Association of Academic Surgery (AAS) and Society of
University Surgeons (SUS) to bring together the nation’s leading authorities to present and discuss their
most recent clinical and research efforts. The 2007 program includes special topics on “Surgical Innovation,
Investigation and the IRB,” “Maintenace of Board Certification”, “ACS Certifying Education Centers for
Excellence,” and a new clinical topics session on Minimally Invasive Surgery.
AAS R e s e a r c h Awa r d s
The Association for Academic Surgery is pleased to announce the winners of three academic development
grants: the 2007 Student Travel Grant is awarded to Bafemi Pratt; the 2007 Student Research Grant is
awarded to John Steinberg; and the 2007 Roslyn Faculty Grant is awarded to Eric T. Kimchi, MD.
Mr. Pratt received his undergraduate training at the University of Chicago and is presently attending
Harvard Medical School. During his third year of medical school, he received the Doris Duke Clinical
Research Fellowship, which enabled him to spend two years performing outcomes research. This work has
led to a first author publication in the Annals of Surgery, in addition to presentations at the SSAT, AHPBA,
and Pancreas Club. Mr. Pratt also expects to receive a Masters Degree from the Harvard School of Public
Health for this work.
AAS R e s i d e n t
Research
Awa r d
Ava i l a b l e
The AAS is pleased to offer the
2007 Resident Research Award.
You may download the
application from the AAS website:
www.aasurg.org
Mr. Steinberg received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and is presently a MD/PhD
candidate at the Johns Hopkins University who expects to receive his dual degree this spring. In his thesis
work, Mr. Steinberg defined the molecular mechanisms involved in cerebellar long-term depression. This
work was published in Science with Mr. Pratt as co-first author. He has also received the Dinesh Thekdi
Young Investigator Award from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine for his outstanding thesis research.
Dr. Kimchi is a graduate of The Penn State College of Medicine who completed his surgical residency at
Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. During this time he was awarded the Helen DeRoy Research
Fellowship in surgery and immunology. He furthered his surgical training at The University of Chicago
where he completed a fellowship in surgical oncology. There, he received the Dennis and Claire Nardoni
Surgical Oncology Research Fellowship, which led to a first author publication in Cancer Research, as well
as other publications. Dr. Kimchi returned to the Penn State College of Medicine in July of 2005 as a
member of the Section of Surgical Oncology. Since his arrival he has assumed a prominent role as part of
the Program for Liver, Pancreas, and Foregut Tumors within the Penn State Cancer Institute. As a young
faculty investigator, he has received clinical and basic science grants for research in hepatocellular cancer.
The deadline for applications is
January 19, 2007.
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