Dr. Keith D. Lillemoe received his undergraduate education at the University of South Dakota and his MD from The John Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1978. He served his entire surgical training at The John Hopkins Hospital from 1978 to 1985. He joined the faculty of Hopkins in 1986 and rose to the rank of professor of surgery in 1996. He served as associate program director for the Hopkins Surgical Residency from 1993 to 2003 and vice-chairman and deputy director of the department from 1997 to 2003. During his time at John Hopkins, he was recognized with the Department of Surgery Faculty Teaching Award on five occasions. In September 2003, he was appointed the Jay L Grosfeld Professor and Chairman of the department of surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine. In May 2011, Dr. Lillemoe was appointed to the position of surgeon-in-chief and chief of the department of surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the W. Gerald Austin Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Lillemoe is a member of most surgical societies and has held office in many. He has previously served as secretary, president, and chairman of the board of trustees of the Society of Surgery of the Alimentary Tract; president of the Society of Clinical Surgery; secretary and president of the Society of University Surgeons; and president of the Halsted Society. He has served as the recorder and is a past-president of the American Surgical Association. Dr. Lillemoe is a senior director of the American Board of Surgery. In 2015, Dr. Lillemoe was inducted into The Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars. He has been recognized with the Honorary Member Award by the Association of Women’s Surgeons and the Leadership Award for the Advancement of Women Faculty from Harvard Medical School. In recent years, Dr. Lillemoe was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, he was selected to the American College of Surgeons Academy of Master Surgeon Educators, he was the recipient of the Society of University Surgeons Lifetime Achievement Award, named a Honorary Member of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons, and named the Distinguished Alumnus from both the University of South Dakota School of Medicine and The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He is a member of the European Surgical Association and in 2025, he was named an Honorary Member of the Mexican Academy of Surgery.
Dr. Lillemoe’ s research interests have ranged from basic science investigations to the pathophysiology of gallstones and other benign biliary tract disease to the clinical management of pancreatic carcinoma and bile duct injuries. He has been funded in the past by the National Institute of Health and with numerous grants from industry. His bibliography lists over 590 journal articles and 145 book chapters. He has edited 21 textbooks. He has served as a visiting professor over 130 times and has spoken nationally and internationally on over 540 occasions. He is the former editor of one of the leading surgical texts, Surgery: Scientific Principles and Practice, and is currently Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Surgery and was the founding editor of Annals of Surgery Open.
Dr. Lillemoe’ s clinical interests are in gastrointestinal and pancreaticobiliary tract surgery. He has contributed to major advances in the management of pancreatic cancer, bile duct injuries and strictures, and numerous other abdominal conditions. In recent years, Dr. Lillemoe’ s academic interests have included surgical education, patient safety, quality, health care disparities, surgical leadership, and well-being.
Host and Welcome Remarks
The host for the Fireside Chat is Mohsen M. Shabahang, MD, PhD, FACS, MAMSE, Vice President/Chief Medical Officer of the Wellspan Surgery Service Line, York, PA. Dr. Shabahang joined Wellspan in the summer of 2021. He serves as the Chair of the Subcommittee on Novel Teaching and Assessment Methods and Educational Resources for the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators.
Ajit K. Sachdeva, MD, FACS, FRCSC, FSACME, MAMSE, Director of the ACS Division of Education and Co-Chair of the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators Steering Committee, will give welcoming remarks.
