Why choose UAB for your colorectal fellowship?
- Our fellowship program is focused on training the next generation of academic colorectal surgeons and leaders.
- Our faculty bring unique clinical expertise, experiences, and academic enrichment to the program.
- Strong clinical expertise in all areas of colorectal surgery and techniques including advanced MIS (robotic, laparoscopic, hand-assist, transanal).
- Strong research expertise and mentorship - our CRS faculty serve or have served as PI on 4 R01s, 1 U01, 2 K-awards, and national society grants including from the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS), the Association for Academic Surgery (AAS), and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT).
- Strong training backgrounds and history at all major CRS programs.
- High-level leadership roles at all major surgical societies where we love to sponsor trainees (current leadership in ACS, ASCRS, AAS, SUS, SSAT, SAAS).
- Invested in mentorship and education with a long track-record of successful graduates
- Passionate about providing the highest-level care for our community - our faculty travel to rural sites to bring colorectal expertise to patients rather than expect patients to come to Birmingham.
- The UAB colorectal surgery fellowship will expose fellows to a busy clinical practice:
- Fellows see a high-volume of cases from bread-and-butter to complex referrals.
- Faculty perform over 500 anorectal cases, 900 abdominal cases (including >15 pouches and >100 LARs), and 500 endoscopies per year.
- Faculty provide colorectal surgery expertise at UAB Hospital, UAB Highlands, VA Birmingham, and affiliated community sites.
- UAB Hospital alone is the 8th largest public hospital in the country (>1200 beds), the #1 hospital in Alabama, and the main tertiary-referral center for the entire state of Alabama and surrounding regions.
- GI/GI Surgery (Digestive Health Program) ranked in top 50 of U.S. News and Reports.
- Over 40 operating rooms at UAB Hospital, 10+ robots, and colorectal surgery operations daily.
- UAB CRS fellows will become experienced with the entire spectrum of colorectal diseases:
- Weekly multidisciplinary conference that reviews all colorectal cancer cases.
- Weekly clinics and endoscopy sessions with colorectal faculty.
- Co-management of complex inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients with GI.
- On-call experiences at UAB Hospital – the Emergency Department cares for over 140,000 patients per year with a wide variety of emergency colorectal cases.
- Broad exposure to advanced surgical techniques:
- Advanced sphincter sparing techniques including intersphincteric proctectomies and coloanal anastomoses.
- Advanced robotic surgical techniques including single-port transanal excisions.
- Reoperative techniques in redo abdomens and abdominal catastrophes.
- Advanced laparoscopy and hand-assist laparoscopy.
- Complex joint cases with urology, gynecology oncology, surgical oncology, vascular surgery, cardiothoracic, spine, and many others specialists (these include sacrectomies, colon conduits for esophageal reconstructions, and exenterations).
Current and Former Residents
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Stevie Jay Stapler, M.D.
Class of 2024
Medical School: University of Michigan Medical School
Residency: St. Joseph Mercy Hospital
Next Steps: St. Joseph Mercy Hospital -
S. Thomas Kang, M.D.
Class of 2023
Medical School: Creighton University School of Medicine
Residency: TriHealth Good Samaritan Hospital
Next Steps: University of Arkansas, Department of Surgery -
Fady Elabbasy, M.D.
Class of 2022
Medical School: Cairo University, Egypt
Residency: Staten Island University Hospital
Next Steps: Advent Health, Orlando, FL -
Danielle Kay, M.D.
Class of 2021
Medical School: Tulane University School of Medicine
Residency: University of Kentucky
Next Steps: Ochsner Medical Center, Department of Surgery -
Edward Andrew Fazendin, M.D.
Class of 2020
Medical School: Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Residency: Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, General Surgery
Next Steps: Advanced Surgeons, P.C. at Grandview Medical Center -
Michael J. Hernon, M.D.
Class of 2019
Medical School: University of Massachusetts, Worcester
Residency: Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut, General Surgery
Next Steps: Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, Surgical Critical Care Fellowship
Attendings
- Chu, Daniel I., M.D., MSPH, FASCRS
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Hardiman, Karin M., M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Program Co-Director, Future Surgeons and Scientists Investigating Oncology (FUSSION)
Associate Director, Physician Scientist Development Office (PSDO)
Assistant Program Director for Resident Research, General Surgery Residency Program
Strange Family Endowed Professorship in Surgical Sciences ResearchAreas of Interest
colon and rectal surgery, intestinal surgery -
Hollis, Robert H., M.D., M.S.P.H.
Assistant Professor
Member, Institute for Cancer Outcomes & Survivorship
Leader, Colorectal Cancer Management Team for the O’Neal Cancer Service Line
Associate Scientist, Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center (MHRC)
Co-Director, Short-Term Research Experiences Advancing Medical Students (STREAMS)Areas of Interest
clinical interests include colon, rectal, and anal cancer; hereditary colorectal cancer syndromes (i.e. Lynch syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis); surgical management of inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease); pelvic pouch surgery; diverticulitis; rectal prolapse; benign anorectal disorders; enterocutaneous fistula; minimally invasive surgery; re-operative surgeryresearch interests include hereditary colorectal cancer; ostomy care; health inequities; quality of care
-
Kennedy, Gregory, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery
John H. Blue Chair of General Surgery
Cancer Network Director, O’Neal Cancer Service Line
Interim Program Director, UAB Colorectal Surgery FellowshipAreas of Interest
colon cancer, rectal cancer, anal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, benign conditions of colon, rectum and anus, endoscopic treatment of colonic disease, chemoprevention -
Morris, Melanie S., M.D., FASCRS
Professor
Vice Chair, Perioperative Services
Chief of General Surgery, Birmingham VA Hospital
Associate Chief Quality Officer, UAB MedicineAreas of Interest
minimally invasive colorectal surgery, colon and rectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis), diverticulitis, and rectal prolapse
Contact
For more information, please contact:
Gregory Kennedy, MD, PhD
Program Director
gkennedy@uabmc.edu