Written by: Emma Shepard
Media contact: Bob Shepard
Vikas Dudeja, M.D., will join the Department of Surgery in the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine in September 2020 as the new director of the Division of Surgical Oncology.
Vikas Dudeja, M.D.As a professor at the University of Miami, Dudeja established the hepatic artery infusion pump program for the treatment of patients with colorectal liver metastases, the only such program in the whole of South Florida. In 2018, he established a total pancreatectomy islet auto-transplantation program for the treatment of patients with chronic pancreatitis, which is the only such program in the state of Florida.
With one patent and over 100 research publications, Dudeja comes highly decorated, receiving multiple awards over the last few years such as: Clinical Investigator Award (2020) from the Society of Surgical Oncology, Taiwan Surgical Association International Visiting Professorship Award (2019), Visiting Professorship at Dartmouth (2018) from the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons, and Young Investigator Award (2017) from the Society of Surgical Oncology Foundation.
“The UAB Division of Surgical Oncology is composed of incredible academic minds, clinical leaders and devoted researchers,” Dudeja said. “It is truly an honor to lead such a world-class group of individuals with a global impact on the field of surgical oncology.”
Martin Heslin, M.D., interim chair of the Division of Surgical Oncology and UAB Hospital’s chief of Medical Staff, anticipates a strong future for the division under Dudeja’s leadership.
“Dr. Dudeja has devoted his entire career to the advancement of the field of surgical oncology, and his extensive experience has proved him to be a successful match for the UAB Division of Surgical Oncology,” Heslin said.
Herbert Chen, M.D., chair of the Department of Surgery Chair and UAB Hospital and Health System surgeon-in-chief, says the department is gearing up to welcome Dudeja this summer.
“In addition to being so academically and clinically acknowledged, Dr. Dudeja is a strong cultural match for the division, the department and the institution of UAB,” Chen said. “We are looking forward to having him on board with us, and I know our faculty will join me in welcoming Dr. Dudeja to UAB.”
Dudeja completed his residency in 2013 at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Surgery and his surgical oncology and HPB fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 2015. His first faculty position was with the University of Minnesota as an assistant professor of surgery, where he was named a Masonic Cancer Center Scholar and a Varco Surgeon Scientist.
In 2016, Dudeja joined the faculty as an assistant professor at the University of Miami in the Division of Surgical Oncology, where he was promoted to a tenured professor in just three years. As a faculty member, Dudeja serves as co-director of Surgical Grand Rounds, chair of the Institutional K12 Mentorship Committee, chair of the Program Evaluation Committee, and associate program director of the Surgical Oncology Fellowship.
Dudeja is a member of the following professional societies: American Gastroenterological Association, American Pancreatic Association, Association for Academic Surgery and American College of Surgeons — to name a few. Additionally, he serves as a reviewer for the following journals: PLOS one, American Journal of Physiology, Annals of Surgical Oncology and Digestive Disease Sciences, among others.