The UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery has matched four new fellows into the Trauma and Surgical Critical Care Fellowship for 2024: Tyler Johnson, D.O., Taylor Norton, M.D., Alexis Scheuermann, M.D., and Sarah Weiner, M.D.

The UAB Department of Surgery mourns the loss of Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery Professor Emeritus Joaquin S. Aldrete, M.D., M.S.

Photo Credit: UAB University RelationsIt was just another ordinary, early morning for Patrick Jones. While his wife, Debbie, was out attending to a sick horse on their South Carolina farm, Patrick ambled to the kitchen to make his daily cup of coffee. That journey to the kitchen would be the last thing Patrick remembered until he regained consciousness with Debbie by his side, as paramedics loaded him for emergency transport.

To recognize and celebrate the Chinese New Year, we invited UAB General Surgery Resident Rongzhi Wang, MBBS, to speak with our Access & Engagement Committee about his Chinese heritage and his connection to the holiday.

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest
liver transplantation, kidney and pancreas transplantation, benign and malignant hepatobiliary disease, minimally invasive hepatic surgery, transplant oncology

The UAB Department of Surgery is honored to highlight alumnus and general surgeon Dr. Joseph Karam, who completed his general surgery residency in 2014.

Associate Professor
Program Director, UAB Abdominal Transplant Fellowship
Director, Pancreas Transplantation

Areas of Interest
kidney transplantation, immunosuppression

Associate Professor
Director, ECMO Program at Children's of Alabama
Program Director, UAB Pediatric Surgery Fellowship

Areas of Interest
congenital diaphragmatic hernia, ECMO, minimally invasive neonatal and pediatric surgery, surgical education

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest
breast reconstruction

Professor
Vice Chair, Access & Engagement

Areas of Interest
melanoma, sarcoma, cutaneous malignancies, and benign and malignant breast disease, inclusive organizational culture

The UAB Department of Surgery will travel to Houston, Texas to participate in the 18th Annual Academic Surgical Congress (ASC), which will be held Feb. 7-9, 2023.

We would like to commend this year's UAB participants for continuing to place the institution as the leading contributor in abstract submissions for the sixth consecutive year.

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest 
quality improvement, geriatric trauma, health literacy in trauma and acute care surgery patients

Assistant Professor
Committee Member, Surgical Grand Rounds

Areas of Interest 
skin and soft tissue malignancies including melanoma, nonmelanoma skin cancers, retroperitoneal and extremity sarcoma, and neuroendocrine tumors

Professor
Director, Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy
Holt A. McDowell, Jr., M.D. Endowed Chair of Vascular Surgery
Director of Quality and Associate Chief Medical Quality Officer, CVI

Areas of Interest
complex aortic disease, including aortic dissection, suprarenal and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms, device development, outcomes research

Professor
Vice Chair, Faculty Development
Surgical Director, Hepatobiliary Clinic, Children's of Alabama
Charles D. McCrary Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery

Areas of Interest
pediatric surgical oncology, pediatric solid tumors, neuroblastoma

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest
adult cardiac surgery, surgical critical care, ECMO

The UAB Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) is offering a Summer Innovation Fellowship Program for 2023.

Associate Professor
Associate Principal, Office of Clinical Practice Transformation

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

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest
Clinical outcomes research, cross-specialty collaboration, and mixed methods implementation science

University of Alabama at Birmingham Fay Fletcher Kerner Chair Emeritus of the Department of Surgery Kirby I. Bland, M.D., FACS, MAMSE, and Professor of Surgery in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at UAB William Holman, M.D., have been awarded professor emeritus status.

Professor Emeritus, Surgical Oncology
Fay Fletcher Kerner Chair Emeritus, Department of Surgery
Surgeon-in-Chief Emeritus, UAB Hospitals and Clinics
Distinguished Faculty Scholar, UAB School of Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Senior Advisor to the Director
O’Neal- UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center
Editor-in-Chief, Emeritus, American Journal of Surgery

Areas of Interest
breast cancer, chemoprevention

PUBMED PUBLICATIONS

For many residents of rural America, the location and availability of cancer care directly impact their treatment plans. This is the question that motivates UAB Division of Surgical Oncology Assistant Professor Kristy Broman, M.D., MPH, FACS – How can we use existing systems of care to ensure that the high-quality care available at specialized centers like UAB is accessible to more patients, including those who live in rural areas or have difficulty traveling to a cancer center?

UAB Division of Surgical Oncology Assistant Professor Kristy Broman, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, and UAB Division of Hematology and Oncology Associate Professor John Dubay, M.D., joined UAB MedCast to examine treatments and therapies for melanoma, a type of skin cancer.

Associate Professor
Associate Director for Quality, O'Neal Cancer Service Line
Member, Institute for Cancer Outcomes & Survivorship

Areas of Interest
surgical oncology, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, sarcoma, breast cancer, research on cancer care delivery

UAB Department of Surgery Division of Transplantation Assistant Professor and Liver Transplant Program Surgical Director Robert Cannon, M.D., FACS, has been selected as a Pittman Scholar in the Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine.

Associate Professor
Surgical Director, Liver Transplant Program

Areas of Interest

liver transplantation, minimally invasive hepatic surgery, surgical management of portal hypertension, surgical management of polycystic liver disease, comprehensive management of benign and malignant hepatobiliary tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma

Associate Professor

Areas of Interest
trauma, surgical critical care, motor vehicle crash injury prevention

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest
host microbe interactions, mechanisms of microbial regulation of substance use disorders and cancer, bioengineering microbial-based therapeutics

Professor Emeritus

Areas of Interest
trauma, hemorrhage, sepsis, gender dimorphism, immune functions, cardiovascular functions

Herbert Chen, M.D., FACS, the UAB Department of Surgery Fay Fletcher Kerner Endowed Chair, and Helen Krontiras, M.D., the director of the Division of Breast and Endocrine Surgery were both recognized by the Association of Women Surgeons Foundation.

UAB Department of Surgery Fay Fletcher Kerner Endowed Chair Dr. Herbert Chen was recently featured on UAB's weekly podcast, MedCast, where he discussed hyperparathyroidism and its impacts.

Chair, Department of Surgery
Professor of Surgery
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Professor of Pediatrics
Fay Fletcher Kerner Endowed Chair
Surgeon-in-Chief, UAB Hospital and Health System
Senior Advisor, O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB
Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Heersink School of Medicine

Areas of Interest
thyroid and parathyroid surgery, minimally invasive radioguided parathyroidectomy, adrenal surgery, endocrine surgery, neuroendocrine cancer biology

Professor
Director, Division of Pediatric Surgery
Joseph M. Farley Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery
Surgeon-in-Chief, Children’s of Alabama

Areas of Interest
anorectal malformation, Hirschsprung’s disease, bowel management, congenital anomalies, thoracic defects and minimally invasive surgery

University of Alabama at Birmingham Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACS, Endowed Chair Daniel Chu, M.D., MSPH, FACS, FASCRS, has been selected as associate division director of Gastrointestinal Surgery in the Department of Surgery.

The UAB Department of Surgery is proud to announce that Daniel Chu, M.D., MSPH, FACS, FASCRS, will serve the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery as division director, effective October 1, 2023.

Professor
Division Director of GI Surgery
Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., F.A.C.S. Endowed Chair

Areas of Interest
colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, diverticular disease and anorectal pathology, health care disparities research, Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS), microbiome research

UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine Department of Surgery Gastrointestinal Associate Professor Dr. Daniel Chu and Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Assistant Professor Dr. Kirk Russ discuss current trends and treatments of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, on UAB MedCast.

Associate Professor

Areas of Interest
laser procedures, skin tightening, resurfacing, fat grafting, transplantation, liposuction, reepithelialization, skin grafts, wound healing, minimally invasive surgery, laser surgery, fat transplantation

Clinical Assistant Professor
Primary Practice Location: Montgomery Baptist

Areas of Interest
adult heart and lung surgery (coronary bypass, heart valve, and aneurysm surgery), minimally invasive heart and lung surgery (TAVR procedure), lung cancer surgery, surgical diseases of the chest wall and lung

Associate Professor
Program Director, General Surgery Residency
Marshall Urist, M.D., Endowed Professor

Areas of Interest
minimally invasive GI surgery, foregut and anti-reflux, abdominal wall hernias, surgical education

Daniel Cox, M.D., associate professor in the UAB Department of Surgery’s Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, was recently named as one of three new associate chief medical officers for UAB Hospital.

University of Alabama at Birmingham Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Associate Professor and Trauma Medical Director Daniel Cox, M.D., has received a new appointment in the Air Force.

Professor
Chief, Trauma Service
Trauma Medical Director

Areas of Interest
trauma, surgical critical care, trauma systems, military medicine

The Alabama chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation will host its 12^th annual Casino for a Cause on Thursday, Oct. 27, from 6:30 p.m. – 10 p.m., at Haven.

Professor
Chief, Section of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery
Director, Fourth Year Medical Student Clerkship
A.D. Pacifico, M.D., Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery

Areas of Interest
pediatric cardiac surgery, quality improvement and outcomes research

Professor
Director, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
John W. Kirklin Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery
Surgical Director, Cardiovascular Operating Room
Director, UAB Cardiovascular Institute

Areas of Interest
adult cardiac surgery, cardiac valvular disease, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, outcomes research

Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest 
combat casualty care, emergency response, shock, resuscitation, critical care, translational medicine, medical education, austere medical care, extracorporeal life support 

Professor
Director, Division of Plastic Surgery
Bruce F. Connell M.D., Endowed Chair in Plastic Surgery

Areas of Interest
abdominoplasty, aesthetic surgery, body contouring, breast reduction and mastopexy procedures, complex wound healing problems including pressure sores, liposuction, trunk contouring after gastric bypass

Associate Clinical Professor

Areas of Interest
breast reconstruction, abdominal wall reconstruction, body contouring, aesthetic breast surgery, facial rejuvenation

Together with the Comprehensive Transplant Institute and UAB Medicine, the UAB Department of Surgery hosted the 4th International Congress of the International Society of Uterus Transplantation (ISUTx).