Member News June 2024

Weigel Is ASA President

Ronald J. Weigel, MD, PhD, MBA, FACS, was elected president of the American Surgical Association (ASA). His term runs through April 2025. Dr. Weigel—a renowned surgical oncologist—is the ACS Cancer Medical Director and, at the University of Iowa Health Care in Iowa City, he is the E. A. Crowell Jr. Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery. He also has held several other leadership positions within the College.

Blackmon Directs The Lung Institute at Baylor

Shanda H. Blackmon, MD, MPH, FACS, was named executive director of The Lung Institute at Baylor Medicine in Houston, Texas. She also serves as a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine in the David J. Sugarbaker Division of Thoracic Surgery of the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery. Previously, Dr. Blackmon, a cardiothoracic surgeon, was a professor of surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and medical director of consumer digital platforms at the Mayo Center for Digital Health.

Maker Is Surgeon-in-Chief of UCSF Cancer Center

Ajay V. Maker, MD, FACS, is the new surgeon-in-chief of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). A surgical oncologist, Dr. Maker also is the Maurice Galante Distinguished Professor of Surgical Oncology and chief of the UCSF Division of Surgical Oncology in the Department of Surgery.

Patel Receives Named Professorship at Michigan

Himanshu J. Patel, MD, FACS, was installed as the first Richard L. Prager, MD, Research Professor of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Dr. Patel also serves as section head of adult cardiac surgery and medical director of the Cardiovascular Network of West Michigan.

Liska Heads Colorectal Surgery at Cleveland Clinic

David Liska, MD, FACS, has been named chair of the Department of Colorectal Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. He also is the director of the Sanford R. Weiss, MD Center for Hereditary Colorectal Neoplasia, leads the Center for Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer, and is the James Church and Edward DeBartolo Jr. Family Endowed Chair in Colorectal Surgery. In addition, Dr. Liska is an associate professor of surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.

Gomez-Sanchez Helps Lead Compliance at UCSF

Clara Gomez-Sanchez, MD, FACS, was appointed associate program director of compliance and logistics for the General Surgery Program in the Department of Surgery at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). A vascular surgeon, she also is an assistant professor of surgery in the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery.

Sarkaria Is Chief at UT Southwestern

Inderpal S. Sarkaria, MD, MBA, FACS, is the new chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery and a professor in the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Dr. Sarkaria previously was at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in Pennsylvania, where he held the Endowed Chair of Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery. He also served in the UPMC Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in various roles, including vice chairman for clinical affairs, co-division chief of thoracic and foregut surgery, director of robotic thoracic surgery and thoracic surgery quality and outcomes, and co-director of the Esophageal and Lung Surgery Institute.

Gemignani Moves Over to NYU Langone

Mary L. Gemignani, MD, MPH, FACS, is the new chief of the Division of Breast Surgery at NYU Langone Health Perlmutter Cancer Center in New York, New York. She also is a professor in the Department of Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Most recently, Dr. Gemignani was a professor of surgery at Weill Cornell in New York, New York, and attending surgeon of the breast service in the Department of Surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York, New York. Additionally, she served as program director for the Breast Surgery Fellowship and co-director of the Young Women with Breast Cancer Program at MSKCC.

Have you or an ACS member you know achieved a notable career highlight recently? If so, send potential contributions to Jennifer Bagley, MA, Bulletin Editor-in-Chief, at jbagley@facs.org. Submissions will be printed based on content type and available space.