Congratulations to Gautam Bhatia, M.D., who will graduate from our Thoracic Surgery Residency Program on June 30 and begin his career as an attending physician in the Greenville Health System’s Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 1.

PGY-6 thoracic surgery resident Paul Linsky, M.D., attended the Society for Thoracic Surgery’s Legislative Fly-in in Washington, D.C., last week after receiving the STS Legislative Fly-in Scholarship. Shoutout to PGY-6 thoracic surgery resident, Paul Linsky, M.D., who attended the Society for Thoracic Surgery’s Legislative Fly-in in Washington, D.C., last week after receiving the STS Legislative Fly-in Scholarship. The STS Legislative Fly-in is an annual event that seeks to update participants on policy issues specific to cardiothoracic surgery and offer meetings with lawmakers to discuss how those issues could impact patient care.

Dr. Sara Pereira talks heart disease with Jeh Jeh Pruitt on WBRC-TV's Good Day Alabama.Don’t miss out on the 2017 Birmingham Heart Walk tomorrow at Uptown at the BJCC!

The Division of Acute Care Surgery is pleased to announce the addition of Jan O. Jansen, M.B.B.S., Dr. Med., Ph.D., currently a consultant trauma surgeon and intensivist at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen, Scotland, and St. Mary’s Hospital in London, England.

The second annual Surgery Bootcamp took place earlier last month, May 1-12, and was hosted by Kimberly Hendershot, M.D., Britney Corey, M.D., Richard Stahl, M.D., and the Department of Surgery, and supported by the Office of Interprofessional Simulation team.

General surgery residents (from left to right) Margaux Mustian, M.D., Taylor Geraldson, M.D., Woody Farrington, M.D., Omeed Moaven, M.D., and Kavina Juneja , M.D., said they are looking forward to having a place to relax.The UAB Department of Surgery and General Surgery Residency Program are excited to announce plans for a new resident lounge space on the second floor of the Boshell Diabetes Building. This 3,040-square-foot area is expected to open in late 2017 and will feature a kitchen, a conference room, a sitting area, showers and lockers for general surgery residents.

Dr. Carla HolcombCongratulations to fourth-year general surgery residents Carla N. Holcomb, M.D., and Charles J. Keith, Jr., M.D., who matched into The Ohio State University’s Minimally Invasive/Bariatric Surgery Fellowship program and the Cleveland Clinic’s Advanced Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgery Fellowship program, respectively.

Dr. Sherry CollawnShoutout to Sherry Collawn, M.D., Ph.D., who was awarded a $10,000 pilot research grant from the Plastic Surgery Foundation for her project, “Role of Matrix Metalloproteinases in Reepithelialization.” It is anticipated that Collawn’s findings will be disseminated in the form of an article for a research journal such as Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

At the May 19, 2017, School of Medicine Birmingham Campus Awards’ Luncheon, Travis Hull and Lauren Theiss were named inaugural recipients of the Robert J. Cerfolio Award for Outstanding Medical Student in General Surgery and the Mary T. Hawn Award for Outstanding Woman Medical Student, respectively. Thanks to the generosity of two former faculty members, Robert J. Cerfolio, M.D., and Mary T. Hawn, M.D., the UAB Department of Surgery has recently established two outstanding medical student awards. At the May 19 School of Medicine Birmingham Campus Awards’ Luncheon, Travis Hull and Lauren Theiss were named inaugural recipients of the Robert J. Cerfolio Award for Outstanding Medical Student in General Surgery and the Mary T. Hawn Award for Outstanding Woman Medical Student, respectively.

“Both of these former UAB faculty members are committed to providing medical students with opportunities that allow them to become interested in surgical specialties,” said Herbert Chen, M.D., professor and chair of UAB Department of Surgery. “Therefore, I think it is fitting that through their generosity we were able to create medical student awards in their respective names. Through these gifts, Drs. Hawn and Cerfolio are continuing to contribute to UAB and the training of the next generation of surgical leaders.”

Hull and Theiss were chosen as award winners because they each have characteristics that harken to the respective award namesakes, said Richard Stahl, M.D., associate professor and director of the surgery clerkship.

“Travis, like Dr. Cerfolio, is a vigorous and enthusiastic team player,” Stahl said. “His exemplary academic credentials are witness to his intellectual curiosity and certainly placed him near the top of an impressive list of candidates for this award, but it is his unpretentious and outstanding work ethic that hoisted him to the top of that list.

“Lauren was chosen because she demonstrated the leadership qualities embodied by Dr. Mary Hawn. In addition to Lauren’s strong academic performance, she exudes enthusiasm, self-confidence and a willingness to work hard side by side with her peers that encourages the esprit de corps that is so important in surgery.”

Robert J. Cerfolio, M.D., is an internationally known lung cancer surgeon who has pioneered robotic techniques that have been shown to reduce complications, increase survival rates and shorten hospital stays. He practiced at UAB for more than 20 years and, as of June 1, 2017, will join the faculty at NYU Langone as chief of clinical thoracic surgery. He also will become the first director of the Lung Cancer Center at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center.

“The best part of academic medicine is the ripple effect a good mentor can have,” Cerfolio said. “I enjoy the opportunity of mentorship, because young students and physicians that we coach can, in turn, positively influence countless patients long after we finish practicing. As academic surgeons, this is our legacy, and it is perhaps as important as the individual patients we have treated. I am deeply honored that UAB created this annual award.”

Mary T. Hawn, M.D., is renowned as an accomplished surgeon, health services researcher and leader. She is professor and chair of the Stanford University Department of Surgery. Her clinical area of specialty is minimally invasive foregut surgery. Hawn is a funded health services researcher whose projects focus on quality measurement and policy in surgical populations. She joined Stanford in 2015, after almost 14 years at UAB.

“In order to attract the best and brightest to surgery, we need to foster relationships with students and showcase the incredible careers that surgeons can achieve,” Hawn said. “UAB was an incredible place to develop my career as an academic surgeon. The medical students at UAB are some of the brightest, hardest working and inspirational individuals that I have met over my career.  I particularly enjoyed mentoring students in their MedScholars projects and into careers in surgery.

“Seeing the world of surgery through their eyes is rejuvenating.”

To learn more about giving opportunities, support medical student education and honor the legacies of Drs. Hawn and Cerfolio at UAB, please contact Leon Ryan, director of development, at leonryan@uab.edu.

UAB surgeons performed the first video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy earlier this month at the Birmingham Veterans Affairs Hospital. This procedure offers significant benefits for patients in terms of postoperative pain, recovery time and complications, such as pneumonia, compared to a thoracotomy. The use of minimally invasive techniques such as VATS and robotics continues to increase across the country.

Laura Allen Hickman, M.D.Congratulations to third-year general surgery resident Laura Allen Hickman, M.D., who recently passed the American Board of Medical Quality Exam. Since 2013, UAB has had 15 faculty members, 9 anesthesiology residents, 1 surgery resident, 1 medical education staff member and 3 nurse practitioners pass the exam. Our department efforts have produced graduates who represent 8 percent of all those currently Board-Certified in Medical Quality. According to the ABMQ website, more than 300 healthcare professionals have been granted this certification.

June 16, 2017 - June 17, 2017

The 2017 Chiefs’ Dinner, celebrating the graduation of this year’s class, will be held on June 16 at The Club. Additionally, for the second year in a row, the department will host alumni events, including the Marshall M. Urist Alumni Golf Tournament on June 17 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Oxmoor Valley and a Night at the Birmingham Barons at Regions Field on June 17.

Match Day 2017 ushered in a new group of surgery residents, while saying goodbye to others who will soon leave UAB for different programs across the country.

According to the UAB School of Medicine Office of Graduate Medical Education, 220 medical students from 63 U.S. universities and 27 international universities will join UAB as residents in 2017.

In a new series, the Department of Surgery will feature incoming and outgoing trainees for all UAB Surgery programs. This week, learn about those joining and leaving the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency and Fellowship programs.

Dr. Robert H. Hollis IVThird-year general surgery resident Robert H. Hollis IV, M.D., was recently elected president of the Graduate Medical Education House Staff Council for the 2017-18 year. The GME House Staff Council at UAB consists of resident representatives from each of the graduate medical education programs and meets monthly to discuss issues pertaining to resident work. The Council brings residents’ needs and concerns to the GME office in order to help facilitate change.

Dr. Elizabeth BeierleThe Division of Pediatric Surgery’s Elizabeth Beierle, M.D., was recently inducted into the American Surgical Association at last month’s annual ASA meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ASA members are surgeons who have traditionally made contributions as a practitioner, author, teacher and/or original investigator. ASA is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious surgical organization with an active member limit of 460.

Dr. Courtney BalentineShoutout to Courtney Balentine, M.D., M.P.H., whose proposal was awarded a $20,000 annual Central Surgical Association Foundation Turcotte Grant by the Central Surgical Foundation Awards Committee. Balentine will be officially recognized during the CSA Business Meeting at the CSA & MSA 2017 Annual Meeting on July 31.

Dr. Mike ChenCongratulations to Mike Chen, M.D., who was named the new treasurer of the American Pediatric Surgery Association at the 2017 APSA Annual Meeting on May 6 at the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida. Chen’s three-year position also includes membership on the APSA Board of Governors.

Recently, an editorial in Nature highlighted a trend that surgeon interest in conducting research is decreasing in the U.S. The article cited two recent studies that document this trend and called for improvements to the environment of academic surgery to again recognize the value of scientific research.

Dr. Greg KennedyShoutout to Greg Kennedy, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery, who will soon serve as the recorder for the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract.

Dr. Renata Jaskula-SztulCongratulations to Renata Jaskula-Sztul, Ph.D., and Manabu Nukaya, Ph.D., who recently received grant funding for their research projects.