Dr. Thomas Varghese Is Named JACS Editor-in-Chief

For only the eighth time in the 119-year history of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS), the publication is welcoming a new Editor-in-Chief.

Cardiothoracic surgeon Thomas K. Varghese Jr., MD, MS, MBA, FACS, will formally step into the prestigious role on March 1, 2025, succeeding Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, FACS, who has served as JACS Editor-in-Chief since 2004. Dr. Varghese’s appointment was announced during yesterday’s Opening Ceremony.

“JACS is one of the world’s oldest surgical scientific journals. There is an outstanding foundation of excellence built by all the prior Editors-In-Chief and the JACS editorial team,” Dr. Varghese said.

Dr. Varghese is chief of the section of general thoracic surgery and professor (tenure track) in the Department of Surgery at the University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City, as well as chief value officer (inpatient and ambulatory) at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, also in Salt Lake City. His previous editorial positions include editorial board member and deputy editor of digital media and scholarship for The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, editorial board member for Perioperative Care and Operating Room Management, and editorial board member for CTSNet.

“In every aspect of my professional career and my involvement in journals and academic publishing, I’ve always looked through the lens of, ‘How can we do better?’ ‘What are we learning?’ ‘How do we communicate this?’ ‘How do we learn from the community around us?’,” said Dr. Varghese, who will begin shadowing Dr. Eberlein in January 2025.

Vision for JACS

With an impressive vision for JACS, Dr. Varghese plans to create a space where those who are committed to improving surgical science can come together, learn from each other, and detail the new advances in the House of Surgery that will transform services, systems, and the lives of patients.

Dr. Varghese also is passionate about making JACS as user-friendly as possible by embracing digital media, bringing high-quality information to every reader, and further improving the quality of their interaction with the information.

“It’s really about delivering surgical expertise to your fingertips. That's the goal—to get the best of science in JACS, and then deliver it to our readers in the format they want,” said Dr. Varghese.

Background

Dr. Varghese earned his medical degree from Government Medical College, Trivandrum—University of Kerala in India, where he also completed his internship. He went on to Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, for his general surgery residency and a research fellowship in the Division of Organ Transplantation, and then to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship. Dr. Varghese also earned a master of science degree in clinical investigation from Northwestern, and an executive master of business administration degree from the University of Utah.

For the ACS, Dr. Varghese has served as a Governor-at-Large on the ACS Board of Governors (BoG), Chair of the BoG Nominating Committee for the Board of Regents, Vice-Chair of the BoG Best Practices Workgroup, member of the BoG Quality, Research, and Optimal Patient Care Pillar, member of the BoG Telehealth & Informatics Workgroup, and Utah Chapter Governor.

“Dr. Varghese’s commitment to the advancement of surgical research and his extensive ACS involvement over the years has positioned him well to lead the Journal of the American College of Surgeons,” said ACS Executive Director and CEO Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS. “His vision will build upon the excellent work over the last 20 years by Dr. Tim Eberlein. We thank Dr. Eberlein for his many years of service and his important work on behalf of the Journal, and we welcome Dr. Varghese as we look to the next phase of scientific publishing encompassing all disciplines within the House of Surgery.”

The first issue under Dr. Varghese’s editorship is expected to publish in April 2025.