Associate Professor and Director of the Division of Surgical Oncology Vikas Dudeja, M.B.B.S., and Vice Chair for Wellness Brenessa Lindeman, M.D., MEHP, FACS, have been named co-chairs of the Association for Academic Surgery (AAS) Publications Committee and the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, respectively.
Dudeja has been a member of the AAS for several years, most recently serving as the Basic & Translational Science Committee chair. In 2019, he was named an International Visiting Professorship Award Winner.
As co-chair of the Publications Committee, Dudeja will play a large role in determining the content of the Journal of Surgical Research, which publishes original articles concerned with clinical and laboratory investigations relevant to surgical practice and teaching. He will oversee the review of submitted manuscripts and their path to publishing.
Lindeman has also had a history of engagement with the AAS, serving on the AAS Leadership Committee, acting as chair of the Education Committee for the past two years, and also being named an AAS International Visiting Professorship Award Winner in 2019, like Dudeja.
As co-chair of the newly formed Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, Lindeman will assist in fostering a safe environment of respect and inclusion for faculty, staff, trainees and students. She will lead the development of safe and effective ways for concerns related to diversity to be shared and addressed and will help create a diversity action plan that is regularly assessed, reported and revamped as needed.
“I am proud that Drs. Dudeja and Lindeman will represent UAB Surgery through their leadership positions with the AAS,” said Fay Fletcher Kerner Endowed Chair Herbert Chen, M.D., FACS. “I could not think of better appointments for each of them and look forward to all that they will accomplish in their national roles.”
The AAS was founded in 1967 and has grown significantly over the years being widely recognized as an inclusive surgical organization with over 2,500 member surgeons. Active members have traditionally held faculty appointments at a recognized academic center. Active membership is also available to senior/chief residents and fellows in approved training programs in general surgery and the surgical specialties. The impetus of the membership remains research-based academic surgery.