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Students in the 2018 Surgery Undergraduate Research Experience program participates in a scavenger hunt hosted by the UAB Office of Service Learning and Undergraduate Research.

The Department of Surgery is hosting two structured research programs this summer, the Pre-College Research Internship for Students from Minority Backgrounds and the Surgery Undergraduate Research Experience. Thirteen students joined the department this week to participate in these research experiences, including five rising seniors in PRISM and eight undergraduates in SURE. These students will participate in eight weeks of mentored research while exploring careers in surgery and learning the importance of research to advancing patient outcomes.

The PRISM and SURE programs provide promising high school and undergraduate students interested in careers in healthcare and medicine with a hands-on research experience under the mentorship of surgeons and peers.

The Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery’s James Bibb, Ph.D., and the Division of Surgical Oncology’s Sushanth Reddy, M.D., were recently awarded a grant from the SDHB Pheo-Para Coalition to study pheochromocytomas and paraganglioomas, two kinds of rare neuroendocrine tumors.

Incoming general surgery resident Dr. Mary Smithson is named the 2018 recipient of the Robert J. Cerfolio Award for Outstanding Medical Student in General Surgery and the Mary T. Hawn Award for Outstanding Woman Medical Student at the May 18 UAB School of Medicine Birmingham campus awards luncheon at the UAB National Alumni Society House. (Photo by Dustin Massey)

At last Friday’s UAB School of Medicine Birmingham campus awards’ luncheon, recent UAB medical school grad and incoming general surgery resident Mary Smithson, M.D., was awarded both the 2018 Department of Surgery medical student awards, the Robert J. Cerfolio Award for Outstanding Medical Student in General Surgery and the Mary T. Hawn Award for Outstanding Woman Medical Student.

Dr. Brenessa Lindeman

The Division of Surgical Oncology’s Brenessa Lindeman, M.D.., recently received a $10,000 Multi-Institutional Educational Research Grant from the Association of Surgical Education. The ASE MERG Research Grant is intended to fund a multi-institutional research project that will advance scientific knowledge and aim to improve undergraduate, graduate, or continuing surgical education.

Dr. Heinrich Matthies

The Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery’s Heinrich Matthies, Ph.D., recently received a UAB Faculty Development Grant for his proposal, “Dopamine Dysfunction in Autism.” Matthies will receive $10,000, split between the UAB Office of the Provost and the Department of Surgery, to study how dopamine levels affect the development of the brain and how these changes are connected to social and repetitive behaviors. Matthies will also present his research at a poster session hosted by the Office of the Provost and the Faculty Senate next fall.

Rhiannon Deierhoi Reed

Rhiannon Deierhoi Reed, M.P.H., a researcher in the Transplant Epidemiology and Analytics in Medicine lab of Associate Professor of Transplantation Jayme Locke, M.D., was recently awarded the American Society of Nephrology Pre-Doctoral Fellowship. This fellowship seeks to foster early career-stage Ph.D. students, under the direction of a sponsor, who are highly motivated to make contributions to the understanding of kidney biology and disease.

See also" "Locke’s lab member wins at symposium" and "Locke’s lab member receives research grant."

The UAB Department of Surgery recently hosted the Plastic Surgery Research Council's 63rd Annual Meeting, bringing approximately 300 plastic surgeons from across the country to Birmingham, Alabama. The event, led by PSRC President and Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery Timothy King, M.D., Ph.D., began on Thursday, May 17, at the Sheraton hotel with a wlcome from UAB Department of Surgery Chair Herbert Chen, M.D., and a history of the UAB Division of Plastic Surgery from the division's former director, Luis Vasconez, M.D.

UAB medical student Benjamin Smood recently received an American Society of Transplant Surgeons Presidential Student Mentor Grant.

Residents in the Robotic Surgery Curriculum train in robotic surgery to provide them with the skills necessary to become practicing, credentialed robotic surgeons through an integrated approach of computer-based learning modules and testing, hands-on training, and a case log system.

This April, UAB Medicine surpassed the 10,000 robotic surgeries mark, a feat that helps make UAB the leader in robotic surgery volume in the country. On May 23, UAB will commemorate this milestone with a free, public celebration in the North Pavilion Atrium at 1 p.m. 

Dr. Laura Stafman

General surgery resident Laura Stafman, M.D., recently received a travel scholarship from the UAB Graduate School to attend the 2018 American Pediatric Surgery Association Annual Meeting last week in Palm Desert, California, where she presented her research on PP2A activation as a novel therapy for hepatoblastoma.

Former mentee of Dr. Herbert Chen and Dr. Renata Jaskula-Sztul, Danilea Carmona-Matos, presents her award-winning research at the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons 39th Annual Meeting last week in Durham, North Carolina.

Former mentee of Department of Surgery Chair Herbert Chen, M.D., and Assistant Professor of Surgery Renata Jaskula-Sztul, Ph.D., Danilea Carmona-Matos received a $1,000 travel scholarship, supported by Neurovision Medical Products, for the research she presented at the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons 39th Annual Meeting last week in Durham, North Carolina.

Match Day 2018 ushered in a new group of surgery residents, while saying goodbye to others who will soon leave UAB for different programs across the country. With 98 percent of students’ matching into residency positions, UAB students will continue their medical educations at 74 institutions across 27 states.

The Division of Acute Care Surgery welcomes a new trauma medical director this summer with the addition Daniel B. Cox, M.D. Cox is currently an active-duty Air Force surgeon assigned as the medical director for en route care in the Office of the Command Surgeon, Air Mobility Command. He also serves as a clinically active trauma and emergency general surgeon in the Department of Trauma, Critical Care, and Acute Care Surgery at the University of Cincinnati.

The UAB Department of Surgery attended the 2018 Surgical Education Week in Austin, Texas, earlier this month.

The UAB Department of Surgery had a strong presence at Surgery Education Week 2018. This joint meeting, hosted earlier this month in Austin, Texas, by the Association of Surgical Education and the Association of Program Directors in Surgery, brings together surgical educators from around the world.

Dr. David ClevelandThe Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery’s David Cleveland, M.D., recently received the American Board of Thoracic Surgery’s Certification in the Subspecialty of Congenital Cardiac Surgery. Cleveland was already certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery in thoracic and cardiac surgery in 1988.

Dr. Daniel ChuThe Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery’s Daniel Chu, M.D., was recently appointed to the position of ad hoc Society of Asian Academic Surgeons representative by the Association for Academic Surgery. For the duration of his 2018-2020 term, Chu will provide AAS with advice and input related to SAAS, and he will attend all AAS executive meetings, including those at the February Academic Surgical Congress and the October American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress.

The Department of Surgery recently hosted the third annual Surgery Boot Camp at UAB. Surgery Boot Camp is a two-week course designed to help fourth-year medical students prepare for their surgical internship year. This year’s event, held March 26 – April 6, saw 15 student participants, all of whom had matched into surgery-related specialties such as general surgery, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery or obstetrics and gynecology.

Dr. Colin MartinThe Division of Pediatric Surgery’s Colin Martin, M.D., was recently awarded the American Surgical Association Foundation Fellowship Award. This award seeks to support and encourage gifted young surgeons who choose careers in investigation and academic surgery.

Dr. Mike ChenThe Division of Pediatric Surgery’s Mike Chen, M.D., was recently elected to the Brandeis University Heller School for Social Policy and Management chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma, the premier international honor society of accredited business schools and the highest recognition an MBA student can receive. Chen received the award as a result of his pursuit of the Heller School’s executive MBA for physicians.

Dr. James KirklinThe American Heart Association’s Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia has named the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery’s James K. Kirklin, M.D., director of the James and John Kirklin Institute for Research in Surgical Outcomes, the 2018 William W. L. Glenn Lecturer. The William W. L. Glenn Lecture was established in 1989 in honor of William W. L. Glenn, M.D., a pioneer cardiac surgeon who made important contributions to the treatment of congenital and acquired heart disease. The award will be presented at the 2018 American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in Chicago, Illinois, Nov. 10-12. A lecture slot will be reserved for Kirklin to receive the award and deliver a presentation on his work.

Dr. Devin EckhoffDivision of Transplantation Director Devin Eckhoff, M.D., was recently appointed to the position of chair of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons American Transplant Congress Planning Committee. Eckhoff’s appointment will begin at the 2018 American Transplant Congress, June 2-6, in Seattle, Washington, and will end at the June 2021 American Transplant Congress. Last year, Eckhoff served as one of the ATC Planning Committee co-chairs.

Dr. Douglas Anderson

The Division of Transplantation welcomes two new faculty members this summer.

University of Alabama football head coach Nick Saban speaks at a panel discussion with Society of Black Academic Surgeons leadership and UAB School of Medicine Dean Dr. Selwyn Vickers at the SBAS 28th Annual Meeting at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute on April 27, 2018.

The UAB Department of Surgery played host to the Society of Black Academic Surgeons 28th Annual Meeting last week, April 26-28, at Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the Westin Birmingham. More than 200 surgeons from all over the country traveled to Birmingham to attend the meeting, hosted by the Division of Transplantation's Stephen Gray, M.D., and the Division of Pediatric Surgery's Colin Martin, M.D.

"As a past president of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons, it has been a tremendous honor to host this group whose mission it is to support surgeons from all backgrounds," said Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., F.A.C.S., senior vice president for medicine and dean of the UAB School of Medicine.

Attendees spent Thursday and Friday, April 26-27, in various sessions at Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium and the Westin before heading to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute on Friday night for a reception and panel discussion featuring University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban. On Saturday, April 28, SBAS members attended sessions and lectures at the Westin before the 2018 SBAS President's Black-Tie Dinner in the Westin Ballroom, where guest speaker and retired U.S. District Court Chief Judge for the Northern District of Alabama U. W. Clemon delivered the keynote address and where the new SBAS President Malcom V. Brock, M.D., and UAB Department of Surgery Chair Herbert Chen, M.D., announced the creation of a new visiting lectureship named after UAB SOM Dean Vickers. This lectureship will give junior faculty in SBAS the opportunity to speak at UAB annually.

#SBAS2018 Tweets

The Robert E. Reed Gastrointestinal Oncology Research Foundation and the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center will host the Third Annual Living with Cancer Symposium on Monday, May 21, at the UAB Alumni House from 1-4 p.m.

UAB Department of Surgery Communications Director Megan Yeatts works with Assistant Professor of Transplantation Jared White, M.D., to record his presentation.

The inaugural Surgical Education Committee is excited to announce a change to the resident education curriculum for the 2018-2019 year. The committee, under the direction of general surgery resident Laura Hickman, M.D., with faculty mentor Jared White, M.D., includes Adam Witcher, M.D., Margaux Mustian, M.D., Samantha Baker, M.D., John Killian, M.D., Quince Gibson, M.D., and Cozette Kale, M.D.

Instead of weekly lectures, the majority of education will comprise online pre-recorded lectures by UAB faculty with associated multiple-choice questions. In-person learning will be reserved for small-group, oral-board-style questions. The goal of the committee is to maximize learner efficiency with succinct, rotation-specific learning while minimizing in-person meetings that might detract from clinical learning opportunities.

The committee is grateful to faculty members Jared White, M.D., Sushanth Reddy, M.D., and Lauren Tanner, M.D., for recording videos and to communications staff Megan Yeatts and Anna Waters for the providing technical support for the pilot project. However, more faculty volunteers are still needed to record 30-minute lectures with supplemental powerpoints (the committee will provide an outline, equipment and quiet space to record). Please contact Laura Hickman, M.D., or any of the other Surgical Education Committee members to volunteer for a topic or for more information.

UAB medical students Kathryn Hudak (top) and Mary Smithson (bottom) match into the UAB General Surgery Residency Program on Match Day, March 16, 2018, at Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium.

Match Day 2018 ushered in a new group of surgery residents, while saying goodbye to others who will soon leave UAB for different programs across the country. With 98 percent of students’ matching into residency positions, UAB students will continue their medical educations at 74 institutions across 27 states.

More than 30 surgeons and administrators from Johns Hopkins, Rush, WVU and Yale attended the April Catalyst program, a joint partnership with Intuitive Surgical, on Friday, April 13 at the West Pavilion Conference Center, where UAB shared the details of its successful robotics program over the course of the day and several sessions.

Rihannon Reed

Rhiannon Deierhoi Reed, M.P.H., a member of Dr. Jayme Locke’s Transplant Epidemiology and Analytics in Medicine lab, recently placed first at the 13th annual UAB Health Disparities Research Symposium, winning a 2018 Charles Barkley Health Disparities Investigator Award for her presentation, “Geographic Disparities in Rates of End-Stage Renal Disease and Organ Supply in Gulf States Compared to Non-Gulf States.”

Dr. David Cleveland

The Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery’s David Cleveland, M.D., was recently appointed to serve as a member of the Thoracic Surgery Directors Association’s Early Specialization Committee. Cleveland’s term is for two years, from May 2018 through May 2020.

Dr. Brenessa Lindeman

The Division of Surgical Oncology’s Brenessa Lindeman, M.D., M.P.H., was recently accepted to the Harvard Macy Institute’s 2018 Program for Leading Innovations in Health Care and Education. The course will be held from June 10-15, 2018, in Boston, Massachusetts, and will examine patient care and healthcare education from a systems perspective, through the lens of disruptive innovation. In this course, participants and faculty collaborate to develop strategies and action plans for leading innovation within their own evolving health care delivery systems and institutions.