Julie A. Freischlag, MD, FACS, FRCSEd(Hon), DFSVS, is 2020– 2021 ACS President-Elect

Julie A. Freischlag, MD, FACS, FRCSEd(Hon), DFSVS, Dean, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, has been elected to serve as the 2020–2021 President-Elect of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

An esteemed vascular surgeon, Dr. Freischlag also is chief executive officer (CEO), Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem. Dr. Freischlag and the First and Second Vice-Presidents-Elect were elected at the October 7, 2020, Annual Business Meeting of Members.

Dr. Freischlag joined Wake Forest in her dual leadership roles in 2017, after nearly 30 years of experience as a practicing surgeon, educator, and leader within medical institutions throughout the U.S. Her faculty and hospital appointments include serving as associate (1992–1997) and full (1997–1998) professor of surgery and vice-chair, section of vascular surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and chief of surgery, Zablocki Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Milwaukee; professor of surgery and William Stewart Halsted Professor, chair, and surgeon-in-chief, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (2003–2014); and professor of surgery, vice-chancellor of human health sciences, and dean, University of California (UC) Davis, School of Medicine, Sacramento (2014–2017). At each institution, she led several committees, including serving as head of the Ambulatory Care Committee, Zablocki VA Medical Center; chair of the Search Committees for division chiefs of cardiac surgery (2008) and plastic surgery (2009) at Johns Hopkins; and head of the UC Health Dean’s Group (2015–2016) at UC Davis, among many others.

A Fellow of the College since 1991, Dr. Freischlag has been a leader within the organization in many roles. She served as an ACS Governor (2000–2006), wherein she served on the Board of Governors (B/G) Executive Committee (2001–2006) and as Secretary (2002–2006). She also served as Chair of the B/G Committee to Study the Fiscal Affairs of the College (2002–2006). Dr. Freischlag was an ACS Regent (2006–2015), acting as overall Chair of the Board of Regents (B/R) from 2012 to 2014. As a Regent, she served as Chair of the Scholarship Committee (2006–2013), Nominating Committee (2006–2011), and Finance Committee (2010–2014), as well as a member of several other Regental committees.

Dr. Freischlag also served in other capacities within the College, including as Chair of the ACS Committee on Education (2010–2018), Chair of the Scholarships Committee (2008–2012), member of the Advisory Council for Vascular Surgery (2006–2015); as a member of the Comprehensive Communications Committee (2006–2014), the Central Judiciary Committee (2014–2015), the Elections Advisory Committee (2013–2015), the Committee on Ethics (2011–2012); ex-officio member of the Health Policy and Advocacy Group (2012–2013); and senior member of the Pre- and Postoperative Care Committee (1995–2002).Dr. Freischlag has been a committed surgeon-scientist during her career, with a focus on vascular surgery. She has been a part of research that has been selected for hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants and awards on aneurysms, vascular grafts, peripheral vascular disease, and more.

Her accomplishments as a surgeon-researcher have had parallel achievements as a member of the editorial boards of many prominent surgical journals, including Vascular Surgery, Journal of Surgical Research, Journal of the American College of Surgeons, and Journal of the American Medical Association. She has published nearly 300 original papers and written nearly 60 chapters in textbooks; additionally, Dr. Freischlag has led nearly 300 invited lectures, workshops, or site visits since 2008.In addition to her dedicated service to the ACS, Dr. Freischlag has been a member and leader of many other prestigious surgical and medical societies. She has been president of the Association of Veterans Administration Surgeons; president of the Society for Vascular Surgery; chair of the Society of Surgical Chairs, which the ACS manages; vice-president (U.S. section) of the James IV Association of Surgeons; and member of several boards in the Association for American Medical Colleges, among others. She also has been a member of surgical groups that support women physicians and surgeons, including the American Medical Women’s Association and the Association of Women Surgeons.

Dr. Freischlag has been recognized many times for her achievements throughout her career. Among many other honors, she was awarded the Golden Scalpel Award for Outstanding Teaching as an assistant professor at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1990 and 1991; the Golden Cane Award, Resident Teaching Award at Medical College of Wisconsin in 1992 and 1994–1996; the Distinguished Member Award in 2000 and the Nina Starr Braunwald Award in 2010 from the Association of Women Surgeons; the Lifetime Achievement Award from West Los Angeles VA Hospital in 2006; and honorary fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2016. She continuously has been named one of the Best Doctors in America and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2015.Dr. Freischlag graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor of science in biology. She earned her medical degree from Rush University, Chicago, and performed her postgraduate training and fellowships at the University of California Los Angeles.

First Vice-President-Elect

The First Vice-President-Elect is Quan-Yang Duh, MD, FACS, a preeminent general surgeon who practices at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), where he has worked for his entire career. At UCSF, Dr. Duh is professor of surgery, division of general surgery, and chief, section of endocrine surgery; he also is attending surgeon, VA Medical Center, San Francisco.

A Fellow of the College since 1991, Dr. Duh has been involved in several leadership and education positions within the ACS. He was a Governor (2002–2008) and has served as a leader of the Northern California Chapter of the ACS in roles including President (2003–2004) and Secretary/Treasurer (1998–2001). Dr. Duh has consistently been involved in the Program Committee that develops the educational content for the annual Clinical Congress, having served as a member since 2007, an intermittent consultant since 2012, and as Vice-Chair (2012–2013). He also has been a member on the ACS Committee on Video-Based Education, as well as the committee’s Vice-Chair (2006–2010).Dr. Duh has been a prominent member and leader of several renowned surgical associations, having served as president of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, the Howard C. Naffziger Surgical Society, the San Francisco Surgical Society, and the Pacific Coast Surgical Association. He has been deeply involved in education at UCSF and beyond, having mentored many clinical endocrine surgery fellows, postdoctoral fellows, and residents, as well as delivered hundreds of international and domestic invited presentations throughout his career.

His research focuses on the endocrine system and endocrine tumors, and he has been a principal or co-principal investigator on more than 30 funded studies. Dr. Duh also is a prolific author of surgery articles and texts, having written nearly 400 peer-reviewed publications, nearly 50 book chapters, and more than 180 conference abstracts.

Dr. Duh earned his bachelor of science in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University, New Haven, CT, and earned his medical degree and completed his internship, residency, and postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF.

Second Vice-President-Elect

The Second Vice-President-Elect is Richard A. Lynn, MD, FACS, RPVI, a general (vascular) surgeon in Palm Beach, FL. Dr. Lynn operated in private practice in West Palm Beach, FL, from 1976 to 2013, when he retired. During his career, he also served as director, Vascular Laboratory of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach (1981–2013); and clinical assistant professor of surgery (2008–2013) and associate professor of surgery (2013–2014), Florida International University, Miami.

A Fellow of the College since 1979, Dr. Lynn previously served as an ACS Governor (2000–2006) and as Chair of the B/G Committee on Chapter Relations (2004–2006). As a member of the Florida Chapter of the ACS, he served in leadership positions as Secretary/Treasurer (2003–2004), State Advocacy Representative (2003–2006), and as chapter President (2006–2008).

Additionally, Dr. Lynn has been deeply involved with the ACS Foundation, having served as a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors for 10 years (2009–2019) and as a member of the 1913 Legacy Campaign National Steering Committee; he also is recognized as a Life Member of the Foundation’s Fellows Leadership Society. He joined the ACS Operation Giving Back Doctors for Maria Relief Mission (2017–2019) in response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Dr. Lynn was the Programming Committee Liaison to the Program Committee (2018–2019).

As a private practice physician who performed vascular, endovascular, general, and oncological surgery, Dr. Lynn worked in association with Good Samaritan Medical Center and St. Mary’s Hospital, Palm Beach, FL, in many capacities throughout his career. He was chair, St. Mary’s Surgical Evaluation Committee; chair, Good Samaritan Surgical Evaluation Committee; and chief, St. Mary’s and Good Samaritan departments of general and vascular surgery; executive committee member, Good Samaritan; among other held positions.

Dr. Lynn received his bachelor of arts degree from New York University and his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College, New York. He completed his surgical internship and junior residency at The Beth Israel Hospital (now Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center), Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; he completed his senior residency, chief residency, and clinical fellowship at Roosevelt Hospital, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY.