UAB Vascular trainees delivered a standout performance at the 2026 Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery “Top Gun” competition, with Adam C. Banks, M.D., and Irina Gonzalez-Sigler, M.D., earning a second-place finish—the program’s highest result since 2013.
Held annually during the SCVS Symposium, the Top Gun competition challenges vascular residents and fellows through multiple rounds of open and endovascular simulation. The top 16 competitors advance to a bracket-style, head-to-head contest judged by expert faculty.
Representing UAB as “Maverick” and “Ice,” Banks and Gonzalez-Sigler advanced to the quarterfinals, with Gonzalez-Sigler continuing alongside Banks through the semifinal round in the competition’s team-based format. The duo ultimately secured a second-place finish among an elite national field.
Their performance marks the strongest showing for UAB since Shonak Patel, M.D. (fellow alumnus ’13), and underscores the continued national competitiveness of the program.
Equally notable was the team support throughout the event. PGY-3 vascular resident Angela Sickels, M.D., was present throughout the competition, assisting and encouraging her colleagues.
“Competitions like Top Gun push our trainees to sharpen skills they will carry into the operating room for the rest of their careers,” said Benjamin J. Pearce, M.D., professor and director of the UAB Vascular Surgery Integrated Residency and Fellowship programs. “Drs. Banks and Gonzalez-Sigler demonstrated the technical precision and teamwork that define what we are building at UAB.”
“This result reflects the strength of the training environment our team has built,” said Adam Beck, M.D., professor and director of the UAB Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy. “Technical excellence is an educational cornerstone from day one. Our trainees walked into that competition confident because they had already been tested at that level in our own curriculum.”