Eight faculty from the UAB Department of Surgery were initiated into the American College of Surgeons as fellows at the ACS 2019 Clinical Congress in San Francisco, California, on Oct. 27. (Photo by Brenessa Lindeman)

UAB Department of Surgery faculty, staff and trainees traveled to San Francisco, California, last month for the American College of Surgeons 2019 Clinical Congress, as well as a number of other national society meetings.

Associate Professor
Program Director, Advanced Aortic and Endovascular Surgery Fellowship
Medical Director, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Areas of Interest
aortic aneurysmal disease, aortic dissection, aortic valve repair and valve sparring aortic root replacement, aortic stent grafting and endovascular aneurysm repair (TEVAR), minimally invasive valve repair, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR)

Congratulations to the following faculty members, as well as the divisions of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery and Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy, for being named to the following endowed chairs:

Professor

Areas of Interest
breast reconstruction and hand surgery

Associate Professor
Co-Director, Pre-College Research Internship for Scholarship and Mentoring (PRISM)

Areas of Interest
pancreatic, liver, gallbladder and bile duct diseases and cancers, stomach cancer, small bowel tumors, health disparities research

Clinical Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest 
clinical and translational research in trauma and general surgery, hemorrhage control, complex abdominal pathology, infectious complications, educational innovation using cognitive retention tools

Professor
Vice Chair, Basic Research
Director for Gastrointestinal Biology Research
Champ Lyons Endowed Chair in General Surgery
Distinguished Professor in the Heersink School of Medicine

Areas of Interest
brain development and plasticity, neurotransmitters, substance abuse

Professor
Director, Division of Transplantation
Co-Director, UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute

Areas of Interest
Kidney transplantation, Liver transplantation, Living donation, Machine Perfusion, Health Services Research

Professor
Medical Director for Surgery/ Surgical Critical Care
Chief of Critical Care Service

Areas of Interest
trauma, critical care, emergency general surgery, surgery education research, biomarkers, wound healing

UAB Department of Surgery Professor and Associate Vice Chair of Research James George, Ph.D. has been awarded the Anderson Innovation Award for COVID-19 in Kidney Diseases, made possible by an generous donation from the Anderson Family.

Professor Emeritus

Areas of Interest
immune regulation of post-transplant vascular disease and allograft rejection, transplantation and heart failure outcomes research

Assistant Professor
Primary Practice Location: Whitfield Regional Medical Center, Demopolis

Areas of Interest 
global surgery, rural surgery, health informatics, genetic epidemiology

Assistant Professor 
Director of Endocrine Surgery Research
Co-Director, Pre-College Research Internship for Scholarship and Mentoring (PRISM)
Associate Clerkship Director, UAB Surgery 
Committee Leader, Surgical Grand Rounds

Areas of Interest
breast and endocrine surgery, surgical oncology

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest 
progression from immune homeostasis that leads to permissive dysplasia in colitis-associated cancer and novel avenues for its prevention, diagnosis, and treatment

Assistant Professor
Co-Director, Women in Surgery

Areas of Interest
colon, rectal, and anal cancer; surgical management of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis; diverticulitis; benign anorectal disorders; robotic and minimally invasive surgery

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest
Diaphragm surgery, lung and esophageal cancer, chest wall trauma and tumors, diseases of the trachea, mediastinal tumors, pleural disease, pneumothorax, paraesophageal hernias, esophageal motility disorders, outcomes research, clinical trials, education

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest 
trauma and acute care surgery

Professor
Vice Chair, VA Affairs
Associate Chief of Staff, VA Surgical Services
Director, Minimally Invasive Surgery at Birmingham VA
Assistant Program Director, Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship

Areas of Interest
foregut and bariatric surgery, achalasia, gastroesophageal reflux disease, hiatal or paraesophageal hernias, morbid obesity and metabolic syndrome, role of the microbiome in obesity, outcomes research

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest
congenital heart disease, neonatal cardiac surgery, single ventricle palliation, heart transplantation, adult congenital heart disease, quality improvement, clinical outcomes research.

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest
neuroendocrine tumors, notch signaling pathway, theranostics, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Assistant Professor
Associate Vice Chair, Global Surgery Equity
Assistant Program Director for Global Surgery, General Surgery Residency Program
Associate Scientist, O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB

Areas of Interest 
global surgery, global oncology, disparities, health services research, financial toxicity, oncoplastics

Professor
Surgical Director, Kidney Transplantation
Martha Robinson Tankersley Endowed Professorship in Transplant Clinical Excellence

Areas of Interest
kidney transplantation, pancreas transplantation, induction therapy

Professor

Professor
Associate Vice Chair, Basic Research
Program Co-Director, Future Surgeons and Scientists Investigating Oncology (FUSSION)
Associate Director, Physician Scientist Development Office (PSDO)
Assistant Program Director for Resident Research, General Surgery Residency Program
Strange Family Endowed Professorship in Surgical Sciences Research

Areas of Interest
colon and rectal surgery, intestinal surgery

Clinical Assistant Professor
VA Podiatrist

Areas of Interest
diabetic limb salvage, foot & ankle reconstruction, reducing postoperative complications, and improving clinical outcomes. 

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest 
trauma systems, trauma benchmarking, quality improvement, surgical critical care

Clinical Assistant Professor
Co-director, UAB Advanced Limb Preservation Clinic

Areas of Interest
prevention of diabetes-related foot complications, diabetic foot complications, wound care, bone infection, Charcot foot, limb salvage, outcomes research

Clinical Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest 
hemorrhage control and the use of whole blood, integrating minimally invasive surgery in trauma, and the optimization of resident education and autonomy 

Professor
Co-Director, Women in Surgery Program
Director of Education, Division of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery

Areas of Interest
trauma systems, surgical critical care, trauma and surgical education

Professor
Chief Medical and Quality Officer

Areas of Interest 
diseases of the stomach, small bowel, liver, pancreas, colorectal surgery

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest 
burns, continuity of care, coagulation, hemostasis, and general surgery education

Clincal Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest
Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics

Professor

Areas of Interest
acute care surgery, injury research, trauma surgery

Assistant Professor
Member, Institute for Cancer Outcomes & Survivorship
Leader, Colorectal Cancer Management Team for the O’Neal Cancer Service Line 
Co-Director, Short-Term Research Experiences Advancing Medical Students (STREAMS)

Areas of Interest
clinical interests include colon, rectal, and anal cancer; hereditary colorectal cancer syndromes (i.e. Lynch syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis); surgical management of inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease); pelvic pouch surgery; diverticulitis; rectal prolapse; benign anorectal disorders; enterocutaneous fistula; minimally invasive surgery; re-operative surgery

research interests include hereditary colorectal cancer; ostomy care; health inequities; quality of care

Professor Emeritus

Areas of Interest
adult cardiac surgery, surgery for heart failure, mechanical circulatory support and surgery for heart failure, surgical education

Clinical Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest 
Breast cancer surgery, hidden scar techniques, oncoplastic breast surgery, skin sparing mastectomy, nipple sparing mastectomy, prophylactic/risk reduction mastectomy, benign diseases of the breast, breastfeeding medicine, breast cancer survivorship, breast cancer genetic, predisposition, high risk screening, male breast cancer, treatment of breast cancer

Infirmary

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest 
clinical outcomes in trauma, trauma systems, the management of the injured patient, surgical education, penetrating cardiac injury, emergency general surgery

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest
breast cancer, patient reported outcomes, quality improvement, improving access to breast cancer care

Professor
Director, UAB Burn Center
Chief, Burn Service

Areas of Interest
burn surgery, wound healing, wound care

Instructor

Areas of Interest
pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, acinar to ductal metaplasia (ADM) biology, notch and hedgehog signaling pathways in pancreatic diseases

Professor
Associate Vice Chair for Clinical Trials
Director of Research, Division of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery
Director, UAB Center for Injury Science

Areas of Interest
trauma, critical care medicine, clinical trials

Assistant Professor in the Division of Breast and Endocrine Surgery Renata Jaskula-Sztul, Ph.D., has received a two-year, $381,830 National Institutes of Health (NIH) NCI R21 grant. This is her second R21 grant award for 2020.

Associate Professor 
Associate Scientist, O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB  
Associate Scientist, Center for Clinical and Translational Science at UAB

Areas of Interest 
Neuroendocrine and thyroid cancers, endocrine cancer associated signaling pathways, personalized cancer therapy, preclinical models, endocrine cancer specific cell surface proteins, targeted detection and drug delivery, nanomedicines, cancer tissue microarrays and high-throughput screening.

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest
gastrointestinal surgery, general surgery, outcomes research

Professor
John H. Blue Chair of General Surgery
Cancer Network Director, O’Neal Cancer Service Line
Interim Program Director, UAB Colorectal Surgery Fellowship

Areas of Interest
colon cancer, rectal cancer, anal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, benign conditions of colon, rectum and anus, endoscopic treatment of colonic disease, chemoprevention

Professor
Brigham Family Endowed Professor in Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
Director, Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery

Areas of Interest
trauma, surgical critical care, acute care surgery, pre-hospital emergency care

The American Transplant Congress (ATC) awarded Cozette Killian, M.D. MPH, General Surgery Research Resident and UAB Transplant Epidemiology and Analytics in Medicine (TEAM) lab member, the Young Investigator Award.

Dr. James KirklinThe Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery's  James K. Kirklin, M.D., director of The James and John Kirklin Institute for Research in Surgical Outcomes, gave two talks at the 21st Annual Update on Pediatric and Congenital Cardiovascular Disease last month in Scottsdale, Arizona. During the Feb. 22 session, "Surgical Strategies for Complex Conditions," Kirklin spoke on aortic valve repair, and during a Feb. 24 plenary session, he delivered the 18th Annual C. Walton Lillehei Memorial Lecture in Cardiovascular Surgery. C. W. Lillehei, M.D., is considered the father of open heart surgery due to his pioneering efforts in the field, beginning at the University of Minnesota as long ago as 1954.

James K. Kirklin, M.D.,Dr. James Kirklin director of the Kirklin Institute for Research in Surgical Outcomes and professor of cardiothoracic surgery at UAB, will present at a joint symposium of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation at the STS 54th Annual Meeting on Jan. 30 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Assistant Professor
Co-Director, UAB Women in Surgery
Chair, Wellness Committee

Areas of Interest
peritoneal surface malignancies, HIPEC, gastric cancer, small bowel cancer, colorectal cancer, health services research, palliative care