A sso c i at ion for Ac a de m ic Su rge ry • spr i ng 2011

Ne w sl e t te r
PR E SI DE N T ’ S M E S S AG E
Dr. Scott LeMaire
Flying home after the highly successful 6th Annual Academic Surgical Congress (ASC), it struck me
how much has changed in the 10 years since I became a member of the AAS. The success and very existence
of the ASC is itself a phenomenal achievement, given the many challenges the leaderships of the AAS and
the Society of University Surgeons (SUS) faced when making the leap from holding separate meetings to
conducting a jointly organized congress. To put the scope of the change in perspective, the 2001 AAS meeting
featured 211 scientific presentations, whereas the 2011 ASC featured 811. The growth of the joint meeting
since the first ASC was held in 2006 (attracting 731 attendees) has been remarkable, particularly given the
recent economic decline and reductions in institutional travel budgets. More than 1000 surgical scientists
came to the 2011 meeting to present their work, hear about the latest advances in cutting-edge research, and
network with colleagues from around the world. Importantly, the success of the ASC serves as an impressive
example of what can be achieved through focused collaboration between the AAS and our partners in the
Dr. Scott LeMaire SUS. For example, together we have expanded the programming beyond the traditional focus on basic science
to include work from the educational, clinical, and outcomes/health services research disciplines, thereby
ensuring that our meeting provides valuable content for all types of surgical investigators.

The AAS has grown in many other ways, as well. One of the major
goals of the AAS is to provide educational programs that help to
launch careers in academic surgery. In 2001, the principal effort
I n t h is I ss u e toward this goal was the annual Fundamentals of Surgical
Research Course (FSRC). Since its inception in 1991, the
President’s Message FSRC has consistently taught young surgeons the nuts and bolts
1 of designing, conducting, and communicating their scientific
work. Although the annual FSRC has remained a cornerstone
President-Elect’s Update of our educational efforts, a new Career Development Course
2 (CDC) was introduced in 2005 to provide guidance to senior
residents, fellows, and junior faculty in navigating the challenges
Summary of the 2011 ASC of building a successful career. The success of the CDC lies
in its unique focus on delivering practical advice for building Ten years of amazing growth
3
an academic career. Surgeons attending the CDC have been
Secretary’s Report taught how to select an academic job, how to build a network
Update on Annual Business of mentors, how to balance clinical and academic expectations,
Meeting and AAS Elections how to get funding for research, and how to get promoted. “The success and very
5 The complementary curricula originally developed for our Fall
Courses were later integrated into a composite program that existence of the ASC is
Outcomes Research Committee has been used to develop a series of international courses that
8 provide surgeons across the globe with a road map to becoming itself a phenomenal
successful academic surgeons. Thus far, these courses have been
Information & Technology conducted on three continents: Africa, Australasia, and South achievement...”
Committee Review: America. In 2011, we will conduct our first course in Europe,
A Resident’s View of Electronic and plans are underway for courses in Asia in 2012.
Medical Records
There has been a remarkable expansion of opportunities for medical students and surgical trainees over the past
9 decade. New membership categories were established to enable medical students and junior residents to become
2011 Fall Courses AAS members and participate in AAS programs. Most AAS committees now have positions reserved specifically
for residents. Further, a new resident-fellow councilor position was recently established; this councilor is elected
11 by residents and fellows to ensure that the interests of trainees are represented on the Executive Council. Finally,
several new medical student and resident awards have been established, including the AAS Student Travel
Grant, which enables medical students from underrepresented minorities to attend the ASC. 1
 Over the past 10 years, the AAS has developed many new relationships with
academic organizations throughout the world. New AAS representative positions
added since 2001 include representatives to the Association for Surgical Education,
the Association of Women Surgeons, the Plastic Surgery Research Council, the
Society of Black Academic Surgeons, and the Surgical Outcomes Club. Further,
the AAS has established a group of 95 institutional representatives who serve as
local liaisons between members and the AAS leadership. The AAS has developed
extremely beneficial collaborative relationships with several international surgical
organizations, including the Colombian Surgical Association, the French Surgical
Association, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the Surgical Research
Society of Australasia, the Taiwan Surgical Association, and the West African
College of Surgeons. These international relationships have provided opportunities
for International Visiting Professorship Awards, leadership exchanges, international
research awards, and the abovementioned courses for emerging surgeon-scientists.
Record attendance at this year’s ASC
The rapid growth in programs over the past 10 years has necessitated a corresponding expansion of organizational
infrastructure. Consequently, the number of AAS committees has increased from five to eleven since 2001.
The recently established committees include the Leadership Committee, which is instrumental in organizing
the annual CDC; the Ethics Committee, which is playing a critical role in addressing the increasing concerns
regarding the management of conflicts of interest within professional medical associations; the Global
Affairs Committee, which is leading the AAS’s efforts to establish and promote international programs;
and the Information & Technology Committee, which serves to enhance the membership’s ability to
“Given the amazing capitalize on new technologies for communication and academic productivity. The two newest committees
are the Outcomes Research Committee, which will work to expand outcomes research programs for the
growth I have organization, and the Publications Committee, which will manage the increasing volume of submissions to
the Journal of Surgical Research from the ASC. All of our committees provide opportunities for members to
witnessed over participate directly in the development of AAS programs, to learn organizational and leadership skills, and to
build a network of mentors and peers.
the past 10 years...
In 2006, the Association for Academic Surgery Foundation (AASF) was established to address the challenge
it is exciting to of securing funding in support of AAS programs. The Foundation’s purpose is specifically to foster and
advance the educational and scientific research activities of the AAS. In 2009, the AASF began sponsoring
contemplate what the annual Research Fellowship Award, which provides support to an outstanding surgical resident or fellow
who wishes to spend 2 years conducting research. The AASF has also provided support for the Fundamentals
the AAS will be of Research and Career Development Course in West Africa.

doing in 2021.” Given the amazing growth I have witnessed over the past 10 years, and knowing the many programs that our
current Executive Council is in the process of developing, it is exciting to contemplate what the AAS will be
doing in 2021. I am eternally grateful to everyone who has helped develop the AAS into such a remarkable
organization, and I consider it a great privilege to lead this Society as we build our future and provide even
greater opportunities for young surgeons.

Wishing you all the best,

Scott

P R E S I D E N T- E L E C T ’ S U P D A T E
Dr. Melina Kibbe, AAS President-Elect
Branding Campaign

The AAS membership recently approved a new branding campaign, which is off to an excellent start. To date,
the Executive Council has selected a new design and primary color for the logo, completing phase 1 of the
project. Brierton Design is currently developing a full color palate. For phase 2 of this campaign, the Executive
Committee has worked with Niraj Gusani, chair of the Information & Technology Committee, to provide
Brierton Design with guidance regarding the functionality and look of the AAS website. These modifications
will produce a user-friendly, simple, and interactive site. Upcoming phases of the branding campaign will
promote uniformity and recognition for the AAS and include the creation of PowerPoint templates, the
newsletter, course and membership brochures, business stationery, and a brand elements toolkit. Stay tuned,
as we are very excited to show you the final product!
Dr. Melina Kibbe
2
 Fall Courses

The co-chairs of the Education Committee, Bethany Sacks and Jon Gould, in conjunction with the co-chairs
Visit us online at of the Leadership Committee, Herbert Zeh and Daniel Anaya, are actively working to develop exciting and
www.aasurg.org engaging content for the 2011 Fundamentals of Surgical Research and Career Development courses. This year
promises to be very stimulating because several new talks and topics will be incorporated into these courses. In
particular, the Career Development Course will have a session dedicated to grant writing. The Fundamentals
of Surgical Research Course will continue to deliver content aimed at conducting successful research, whether
it is basic, translational, clinical outcomes, or health services research. So, tell your junior faculty, fellows,
residents, and medical students to sign up; they won’t want to miss this valuable opportunity!

S U M M A R Y O F T H E 2 011 A S C
Dr. Julie Ann Sosa, AAS Recorder
On behalf of our outgoing recorder and program chair (and president-elect!), Dr. Melina Kibbe, as well as
the AAS Program Committee, I would like to thank all of the presenters, moderators, discussants, members,
guests, residents, and medical students who helped to make the 6th Annual ASC one of the best meetings the
AAS has ever had! A record number of people registered (1,072, a 10% increase from 2009), and a record
number of abstracts were presented (811, a 23% increase) in Huntington Beach. The distribution of abstract
types submitted to the ASC this year was nearly perfectly balanced between basic science and clinical research.
Furthermore, 140 manuscripts were submitted through the AAS by the deadline for publication in the Journal
of Surgical Research. To better accommodate the large volume of AAS manuscripts we expect to receive from
ASC attendees next year, a new Publications Committee has been created.

In particular, I would like to recognize and thank several key people. Drs. Kibbe and Dev Desai, the SUS
Dr. Julie Ann Sosa Publications chair, provided strong leadership and collaboration in organizing and maintaining the AAS and
SUS meetings as one joint scientific congress. They were supported by the other members of the 2010 ASC
Core Committee, including Drs. Daniel Albo, Dai Chung, Scott LeMaire, Dan Meldrum, Joe Hines, David
Hackam, Timothy Pawlik, and Lillian Kao, as well as staff members Phil Pyster and Christina Kasendorf.
“I would like to The 2011 ASC was marked by several new features:
thank all of the • The improved ASC website appeared to work well for those members submitting abstracts, as well as the
presenters, moderators, hard-working members of the Program Committee who performed their evaluations by using the site.

discussants, members, • Audience response units were integrated into several sessions, including the Issues Committee
lunch session and the AAS Business Meeting, with real-time results to facilitate voting for committee
guests, residents, and memberships and officer positions.

medical students who • Oral presentations were shortened to 8 minutes to allow for more speakers, and presenters and
moderators were given timers to facilitate on-time transitions.
helped to make the • Although some were
6th Annual ASC one skeptical about the
potential success of
of the best meetings the joint social with a
DJ, dancing and, yes,
the AAS has ever had! karaoke, the event went
late into the night…
A record number and then the wee hours
of the morning!
of people registered
• Finally, there were
and a record monitors set up around
number of abstracts the meeting that
showed a looped “Why
were presented in Be a Surgeon?” video.

Huntington Beach.”
AAS and SUS members do the “ hustle” at the Joint Social

3

Dr. Albo’s Presidential Address
focuses on the diversification of
the academic portfolio
Dr. Birkmeyer delivers the first
ever Outcomes Keynote Address
at the ASC
“Like” us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/
pages/Association-for-
Academic-Surgery-
AAS/133834026653545
As the AAS has reached out to forge associations with other surgical societies from around the world, the
number of international visitors to the ASC has increased; there were 41 representatives from 8 countries
in Huntington Beach. Another initiative spearheaded by Dr. Albo was to coordinate an Outcomes Session
with the help of the Surgical Outcomes Club. This session, which took place on the final day of the meeting,
included a keynote address, “Past, Present and Future of Surgical Health Services Research,” by Dr. John
Birkmeyer, as well as an Issues in Outcomes Research panel discussion, “Thinking Big: Improving Surgical
Care at the Population Level.” Dr. Albo also focused on this initiative in his AAS Presidential Address.
As in previous years, the program consisted of the AAS and SUS plenary sessions, as well as joint scientific
oral and quick shot presentations involving the two societies. The combined efforts of both societies led to
a synergistic increase in the depth and quality of the meeting. On the whole, sessions were well attended
and encouraged participation from the audience. The combined AAS and SUS format was seamless and
promoted discussion, collaboration, and scientific exchange between the two organizations. Several special
sessions were showcased:
• There were two Hot Topics Symposia on “Vascular and Tissue -based Cancer Care” and “Biotechnology
and Robotics.”
• Also timely was the Issues Committee Session on “Health Care Reform: Anticipated Impact on
Academic Surgery;” automated response units revealed interesting perceptions (and misperceptions)
among the audience members before the presentations.
• The Education Committee Session was a panel discussion about “Becoming a Better Surgical Educator,”
and the AAS/SUS Presidents’ Session was about “Unconscious Bias in Academic Surgery.”
• Several distinguished speakers gave invited talks. These included Dr. David Berger, who presented the
AAS Founders Lecture on “Re-engineering Health Care”; Dr. Selwyn Vickers, who gave the Joel J.
Roslyn Lecture on “Pancreatic Cancer: Bench to Bedside”; and the four speakers who gave State of
the Art Lectures: Drs. Charles Brunicardi (personalized genomic surgery), Jeffrey Lee (adrenocortical
tumors), Andrew Schafer (physician-scientists), and Stephen Fesik (cancer drug discovery).
• The Association of Women Surgeons Lunch was dedicated to “Global Surgery: Scope, Approaches and
the Role of the Academic Health Institution.”
• Other opportunities for exchange between junior and senior attendees included the AAS New Members’
Breakfast and the Resident/Student Meet the AAS Leadership Lunch.
Several attendees of the ASC were recognized for their outstanding presentations or manuscript submissions.
The following awards were presented:
Best Overall Abstract by an AAS Faculty Member: Justin Dimick
AAS Research Resident Award: Mark Girgis and Jamil Matthews
Best Overall Manuscript: James Tomlinson
Best Manuscript by a New AAS Member: Allison Speer
Best Oral Presentation by a New AAS Member: Syamal Bhattacharya
Best Quick Shot Presentation by a New AAS Member: Allison Speer
AAS Outstanding Medical Student Award: Andrew Nguyen
Finally, I would like to thank the AAS membership for the honor and privilege of serving as your recorder for
the next 2 years. I also would like to recognize Dr. Kibbe for the 2 years of heroic work and achievement she
provided to the AAS as recorder, which included serving as Program Committee chair and as associate editor
of the Journal of Surgical Research. Thank you, Melina; you have left very big shoes to fill!
On to Las Vegas in 2012! Please mark your calendars, because preparations have begun in earnest for the 7th
Annual ASC, which will be held Tuesday, February 14, through Thursday, February 16, 2012, at the Encore
at Wynn Las Vegas, located just off the Las Vegas Strip.
4
 S E C R E T A R Y ’ S R E P O R T: U P D A T E O N A N N U A L
BUSI N E SS M E ET I NG A N D A A S EL EC T IONS
Dr. Lillian Kao
As detailed throughout the newsletter, the AAS and ASC have seen amazing growth in the past several years
in terms of meeting attendance, expansion of membership—particularly among international and medical
student members, abstract and manuscript submission, and the diversity of research presented. On behalf
of the entire AAS Executive Council, I encourage all of you to get involved! As detailed below, there are
an increasing number of leadership and committee positions available, and everyone’s input is welcome.
Please encourage your colleagues to become members, because applying is easier than ever. Applications are
reviewed four times a year, 1 month after the deadlines (the 15th of March, June, September, and December).
Apply online today (www.aasurg.org/memberapp.php)! Candidate members (residents and fellows in good
standing) are eligible to vote for and to apply for candidate committee member positions, and active members
are eligible for committee and leadership positions.
Dr. Lillian Kao
CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION

Several changes to the Constitution were passed at the 2011 Annual Business Meeting:
“The AAS and ASC 1. Requirements for membership: Applications for membership no longer require a letter of support
have seen amazing from the department chair or division chief. The change was initially introduced at the 2010 business
meeting and was officially passed at the 2011 meeting. The simplified application process will shorten the
growth in the past turnaround time between application for membership and entry into the AAS.

several years in terms 2. AAS Program Committee: This committee reviews the abstracts of all papers submitted and selects
those to be presented during the Academic Surgical Congress. To keep up with the exponential rise in
of meeting attendance, abstracts, the committee has been expanded to include at least 30 (rather than 16) members. In addition,
the chair of the Program Committee will be appointed by the president and will no longer be the AAS
expansion of recorder. This change serves to accommodate the rapidly growing annual meeting and to expand the
number of leadership positions available in the AAS. Dr. Peter Nelson has been appointed the 2011-2013
membership, abstract Program Committee chair.

and manuscript 3. Journal of Surgical Research (JSR) Representative and Publications Committee: A new Publications
Committee has been formed that consists of at least 15 members. The committee is tasked with
submission, and the reviewing the manuscripts submitted to the JSR in association with the annual meeting. The position of
representative to the JSR will be eliminated, and instead the chair of the Publications Committee will
diversity of research fulfill those duties; the chair will serve as the AAS liaison to the editor(s) of the journal and will sit on the
JSR Editorial Board. Dr. Jussuf Kaifi will be the 2011-2103 chair of the Publications Committee.
presented... On behalf 4. Outcomes Research Committee: This new committee will address issues related to developing the
of the entire AAS outcome research components of the AAS, including but not limited to the annual meeting, educational
courses, and awards. The 2011-2013 chair of the committee, Dr. Justin Dimick, was appointed by Past
Executive Council, I President Dr. Albo. Online voting recently closed.

encourage all of you 2011 ELECTION RESULTS AND APPOINTMENTS

to get involved!” The following members represent the AAS Executive Committee:
President: Scott LeMaire, MD (2011-2012)
President-Elect: Melina Kibbe, MD (2011-2012)
Secretary: Lillian Kao, MD, MS (2010-2012)
Recorder: Julie Ann Sosa, MD, MA (2011-2013)
Treasurer: Timothy Pawlik, MD, MPH (2010-2013)
Past President: Daniel Albo, MD, PhD (2010-2011)
Past President: Kevin Staveley-O’Carroll, MD, PhD (2009-2010)
Past President: Herbert Chen, MD (2008-2009)

The following persons are the other members of the AAS Executive Council:
Deputy Treasurers: Benedict Nwomeh, MD (2010-2013) & T. Clark Gamblin, MD (2011-2013)
Councilors: Christopher Anderson, MD (2010-2012), Richard Bafford, MD (2011-2013), Anees Chagpar,
MD, MPH (2010-2012), Clifford Cho, MD (2011-2013), Alan Dardik, MD, PhD (2010-2012), Lisa Poritz,
MD (2011-2013), Carla Pugh, MD, PhD (2010-2012), Christopher Raeburn, MD (2011-2013), Christoph
Troppmann, MD (2010-2012), Carmen Solorzano, MD (2011-2013), Stefan Holubar, MD (Resident-Fellow
Councilor, 2010-2012)
5
Representatives Vishal Bansal, MD (2011-2013)
Representative to the American Board of Surgery: Stanley Ashley, Rosa F. Hwang, MD (2011-2013)
MD (2004-2012) Alexander A. Parikh, MD (2011-2013)
Representative to the American College of Surgeons Board of Dimitrios Stefanidis, MD, PhD (2011-2013)
Governors: Andrea Hayes-Jordan, MD (2009-2011)* Rebekah R. White, MD (2011-2013)
Representative to the American College of Surgeons Surgical Karl Bilimoria, MD (Candidate Member, 2011-2013)
Research Committee: Julie Ann Sosa, MD, MA (2009-2011)*
Representative to the Association of American Medical Colleges: Ethics Committee
Gretchen Purcell Jackson, MD, PhD (2010-2013), Rena Kass, MD Andrea Hayes Jordan, MD, Chair (2011-2013)
(2010-2012) Thomas A. Aloia, MD (2010-2012)
Representative to the Association for Surgical Education: Rebecca Oscar H. Grandas, MD (2010-2012)
Sippel, MD (2011-2013) Amy L. Waer, MD (2010-2012)
Representative to the Association of Women Surgeons: Kimberly E. Phillip A. Letourneau, MD (Candidate Member, 2010-2012)
Steele, MD (2010-2012) Raja R. Gopaldas, MD (2011-2013)
Representative to the National Association for Biomedical Research: Robert C. G. Martin, MD (2011-2013)
David Foley, MD (2011-2013) Patricia L. Turner, MD (2011-2013)
Representative to the Society of Black Academic Surgeons: Wayne Krista L. Haines, MA (Candidate Member, 2011-2013)
Frederick, MD (2011-2014)
Representative to the Surgical Outcomes Club: Caprice Greenberg, Global Affairs Committee
MD, MPH (2011-2013) Carlton C. Bennett, Jr., MD, Co-Chair (2010-2012)
Representative to the Plastic Surgery Research Council: J. Peter Allan Tsung, MD, Co-Chair (2010-2012)
Rubin, MD (2010-2012) Andrew G. Hill, FRACS (2010-2012)
Saju Joseph, MD (2010-2012)
*Note: Andrea Hayes-Jordan and Julie Ann Sosa will remain in these
Alysandra Lal, MD (2010-2012)
positions until the ACS selects new representatives from the candidates put
Marcovalerio Melis, MD (2010-2012)
forth by the AAS in October 2011.
Barbra S. Miller, MD (2010-2012)
Kristen C. Sihler, MD, MS (2010-2012)
Committee Chairs Cord Sturgeon, MD (2010-2012)
Education Committee: Jon Gould, MD, and Bethany Sacks, MD, MSE Abhishek Mathur, MD (Candidate Member, 2010-2012)
(2011-2012) Roger H. Kim, MD (2011-2013)
Ethics Committee: Andrea Hayes-Jordan, MD (2011-2013) Purvi Y. Parikh, MD (2011-2013)
Global Affairs Committee: Carlton Barnett, Jr., MD (2010-2012), Faisal G. Qureshi, MD (2011-2013)
Allan Tsung, MD (2010-2012) Mamta Swaroop, MD (2011-2013)
Information & Technology Committee: Niraj Gusani, MD (2010- Arman Kahokehr, MD (Candidate Member, 2011-2013)
2012)
Issues Committee: Danny Chu, MD (2011-2013), Julie Margenthaler, Information & Technology Committee
MD (2011-2013) Niraj J. Gusani, MD, Chair (2010-2012)
Leadership Committee: Herb Zeh, III, MD (2010-2012), and Daniel Jason S. Gold, MD (2010-2012)
Anaya, MD (2011-2013) Erich S. Huang, MD, PhD (2010-2012)
Membership Committee: Eric Kimchi, MD (2010-2012) Michael J. Morowitz, MD (2010-2012)
Outcomes Research Committee: Justin Dimick, MD, MPH (2011- Michael B. Nicholl, MD (2010-2012)
2013) Carol Schulman, MD (2010-2012)
Program Committee: Peter Nelson, MD (2011-2013) SreyRam Kuy, MD (Candidate Member, 2010-2012)
Publications Committee: Jussuf Kaifi, MD (2011-2013) Bola Asiyanbola, MD (2011-2013)
Tomer Davidov, MD (2011-2013)
2011 AAS COMMITTEE MEMBERS Jeffrey M. Farma, MD (2011-2013)
The AAS Executive Council would like to thank all of the committee Lauren B. Mashaud, MD (2011-2013)
members for their dedication and hard work in ensuring that the work Giuseppe R. Nigri, MD, PhD (2011-2013)
and mission of the AAS is being fulfilled. The following is a list of the Diego M. Avella Patino, MD (Candidate Member, 2011-2013)
AAS committees and their members. This list, along with the objectives
of each committee and the contact information for the members, can be Issues Committee
found at www.aasurg.org. Danny Chu, MD, Co-Chair (2011-2012)
Julie Margenthaler, MD, Co-Chair (2011-2012)
Education Committee John I. Lew, MD (2010-2012)
Jon C. Gould, MD, Co-Chair (2011-2012) Kaye M. Reid Lombardo, MD (2010-2012)
Bethany C. Sacks, MD, MSE, Co-Chair (2011-2012) Matthew D. Neal, MD (Candidate Member, 2010-2012)
Joshua M. V. Mammen, MD (2010-2012) Brian Badgwell, MD, MS (2011-2013)
Joshua Mezrich, MD (2010-2012) Denise Carneiro-Pla, MD (2011-2013)
Stephen C. Yang, MD (2010-2012) Steven Chen, MD, MBA (2011-2013)
Wei Zhou, MD (2010-2012) Christopher C. Rupp, MD (2011-2013)
Paul D. DiMusto, MD (Candidate Member, 2010-2012) Claudia N. Emami, MD (Candidate Member, 2011-2013) 6
Leadership Committee
Herbert J. Zeh, III, MD, Co-Chair (2010-2012)
Daniel Anaya, MD, Co-Chair (2011-2013)
Adam C. Berger, MD (2010-2012)
Clifford S. Cho, MD (2010-2012)
Eugene P. Kennedy, MD (2010-2012)
Hong Jin Kim, MD (2010-2012)
Stacey D. Moore-Olufemi, MD (2010-2012)
Jared Huston, MD (2011-2012)
Heather Neuman, MD, MS (Candidate Member, 2010-2012)
Anthony W. Kim, MD (2011-2013)
Peter F. Nichol, MD, PhD (2011-2013)
Juan R. Sanabria, MD (2011-2013)
Christopher J. Sonnenday, MD (2011-2013)
Peter I. Tsai, MD (2011-2013)
Thomas N. Wang, MD, PhD (2011-2013)
Jaime Cavallo (Candidate Member, 2011-2013)
Membership Committee
Eric T. Kimchi, MD, Chair (2010-2012)
David M. Gourlay, MD (2010-2012)
Daithi S. Heffernan, MD (2010-2012)
Charles P. Heise, MD (2010-2012)
Timothy W. King, MD, PhD (2010-2012)
Tarun Kumar, MD (2010-2012)
David R. Lal, MD (2010-2012)
Todd A. Ponsky, MD (2010-2012)
Ulka Sachdev, MD (2010-2012)
Ben L. Zarzaur, MD (2010-2012)
George E. Havelka, MD (Candidate Member, 2010-2012)
Rory L. Smoot, MD (Candidate Member, 2010-2012)
Vanita Ahuja, MD (2011-2013)
Faiz Y. Bhora, MD (2011-2013)
Todd V. Brennan, MD, MS (2011-2013)
James M. McLoughlin, MD (2011-2013)
Ravi Radhakrishnan, MD, MBA (2011-2013)
Jason W. Smith, MD (2011-2013)
Kazuaki Takabe, MD, PhD (2011-2013)
Allison L. Speer, MD (Candidate Member, 2011-2013)
Nominating Committee
Scott A. LeMaire, MD, Chair (2011-2012)
Melina R. Kibbe, MD (2011-2012)
Lillian S. Kao, MD, MS (2010-2012)
Julie Ann Sosa, MD, MA (2011-2013) Michael Stoner, MD (2011-2012)
Timothy M. Pawlik, MD, MPH (2010-2013)
Christopher D. Anderson, MD (2011-2012)
Anees B. Chagpar, MD, MPH (2011-2012)
Alan Dardik, MD, PhD (2011-2012)
Carla M. Pugh, MD, PhD (2011-2012)
Christoph Troppmann, MD (2011-2012)
David J. Bentrem, MD (2011-2012)
Caprice C. Greenberg, MD, MPH (2011-2012)
Christopher J. Sonnenday, MD (2011-2012)
Outcomes Research Committee
Justin Dimick, MD, MPH, Chair (2011-2013)
Julie Fuchs, MD (2011-2013)
Sandra Wong, MD (2011-2013)
Tina Yen, MD (2011-2013)
Amir Ghaferi, MD (Candidate Member, 2011-2013)
Shimul Shah, MD (2011-2012)
Al-Refaie Waddah, MD (2011-2012)
Tracy Wang, MD (2011-2012)
Program Committee
Peter Nelson, MD, Chair (2011-2013)
Faisal Bakaeen, MD (2010-2012)
Marybeth Browne, MD (2010-2012)
Michael House, MD (2010-2012)
Gregory Kennedy, MD, PhD (2010-2012)
Christopher Muratore, MD (2010-2012)
Louis Nguyen, MD, MBA (2011-2012)
Kepal Patel, MD (2010-2012)
Kathleen Raman, MD, MPH (2010-2012)
Michael Reed, MD (2010-2012)
John Scarborough, MD (2010-2012)
Seth Spector, MD (2010-2012)
Kristan Staudenmayer, MD (2010-2012)
James Yoo, MD (2010-2012)
E. Ramsay Camp, MD (2011-2013)
Kent Choi, MD (2011-2013)
Zara Cooper, MD (2011-2013)
Michael Englesbe, MD (2011-2013)
Adil Haidir, MD (2011-2013)
Heitham Hassoun, MD (2011-2013)
Ajay Jain, MD (2011-2013)
Muneera Kapadia, MD (2011-2013)
Eugene Kim, MD (2011-2013)
Joseph Kim, MD (2011-2013)
Eric Silberfein, MD (2011-2013)
Julie Ann Sosa, MD, MA (2011-2013)
Jason Spector, MD (2011-2013)
James Suliburk, MD (2011-2013)
Larissa Temple, MD (2011-2013)
Curtis Wray, MD (2011-2013)
Publications Committee
Jussuf Kaifi, MD, Chair (2011-2013)
Suresh Agarwal, MD (2011-2012)
Luke Brewster, MD, PhD, MA (2011-2012)
Quyen Chu, MD (2011-2012)
Anne Fischer, MD, PhD (2011-2012)
Seth Force, MD (2011-2012)
Imran Hassan, MD (2011-2012)
Saleem Islam, MD, MPH (2011-2012)
Steven Katz, MD (2011-2012)
Haggi Mazeh, MD (2011-2012)
James Tomlinson, MD, PhD (2011-2012)
Garth Utter, MD, MSc (2011-2012)
Steven Allen, MD (2011-2013)
George Chang, MD, MS (2011-2013)
John Curci, MD (2011-2013)
Alexander Sasha Krupnick, MD (2011-2013)
Matthew Martin, MD (2011-2013)
James Mezhir, MD (2011-2013)
Terence O’Keeffe, MB ChB, MPH (2011-2013)
Iraklis Pipinos, MD (2011-2013)
Sanziana Roman, MD (2011-2013)
Julie Ann Sosa, MD, MA (2011-2013)
John Stewart, IV, MD (2011-2013)
KuoJen Tsao, MD (2011-2013)
Y. Joseph Woo, MD (2011-2013)
7

Congratulations
to the AAS 2011 Award
Winners!
AAS 2011 Joel J. Roslyn Faculty
Research Award winner:
Sundeep Keswani, MD,
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
Medical Center
AAS 2011 Foundation Research
Fellowship Award winner:
Igor V. Voskresensky, MD,
Vanderbilt University
Medical Center
AAS 2011 Travel Grant winner:
Andrew M. Ibrahim,
Case Western Reserve University,
School of Medicine
AAS 2011 Student Research
Award winners:
Justin D. Ellett,
Medical University of South
Carolina
Ashanti L. Franklin,
Children’s Hospital
Los Angeles/USC
David J. Hiller,
LSUHSC- Shreveport School
of Medicine
Jozef Murar,
Northwestern University
Andrew H. Nguyen,
NYU School of Medicine
Jarrod D. Predina,
University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Justin Dimick
International Task Forces:
An increasing number of task forces are devoted to developing surgical research and career development
courses overseas with sister societies of the AAS. The task force chairs are
AAS/Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Course: Lillian S. Kao, MD, MS (2010-2012)
AAS/French Surgical Association Course: Christian Max Schmidt, MD, PhD, MBA (2011-2013)
AAS/Indian Course: Sanjay Krishnaswami, MD (2011-2012)
AAS/West African College of Surgeons Course: Jonathan Laryea, MD (2011-2013)
CALL FOR COUNCILORS
The AAS is now accepting self-nominations for councilors for the Classes of 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008.
Councilors sit on the Executive Council and are involved in important decision-making and strategic
planning for the AAS. They are full voting members of the council and, therefore, can have a significant input
into the future directions of the organization. They can bring new ideas forward, volunteer to serve on ad
hoc committees, and contribute to program development. Service on the Executive Council is a significant
contribution to the organization and is a great first step toward assuming a larger leadership role. For more
information, see the councilor job description at www.aasurg.org/nominations/councilorjob.php.
Those interested in applying are asked to send a statement of interest and a photograph to the AAS office at
admin@aasurg.org. At the Executive Council Retreat in June 2011, the Nominating Committee will select three
respondents from each class who indicate that they are willing to take on this responsibility. The classes of ‘02,
‘04, ‘06, and ‘08 will then elect a councilor from the three persons selected by the Nominating Committee.
Those interested in applying for this position for the class of ‘10 need to send a statement of interest and a
photograph directly to the chair of the Membership Committee at membership@aasurg.org. The Membership
Committee will select three nominees, and the class of ‘10 will subsequently elect a councilor from this group.
Statements of interest for the councilor positions should conform to the following guidelines:
1. Statements must be submitted in MS Word format or as a .pdf and be no longer than 100 words.
2. Name your statement as follows: YourNamePosition2011.doc or .pdf
3. Make sure that you include a record of your previous service to the AAS and your attendance at the
annual meeting and courses.
Please note: AAS members are only allowed to serve in one elected position at a time. If you are currently a
committee member or representative and you are elected as councilor, you will need to relinquish your other role.
Please consider this carefully in choosing to self-nominate.
If you have any questions, please email me directly at Lillian.S.Kao@uth.tmc.edu and cc the AAS Office at
aaron@aasurg.org.
OU TCOM E S R E SE A RCH COM M IT T E E
Dr. Justin Dimick, Chair of the Outcomes Research Committee
The types of scientific endeavors pursued by surgeons continue to diversify. The AAS has embraced this change by
actively transforming into an organization where all surgeon-scientists feel at home. Given the dramatic increase
in the number of residents and junior faculty pursuing outcomes/health services research, the AAS has placed
particular emphasis on this area. The AAS has taken several steps to reach out to surgical outcomes researchers,
including establishing a strong partnership with the Surgical Outcomes Club (www.surgicaloutcomesclub.org).
To formalize this relationship, the SOC sends a representative to the AAS Executive Committee; at present, this
representative is Dr. Caprice Greenberg, who also serves as the secretary of the SOC.
The AAS leadership also implemented several changes in the Academic Surgical Congress in 2011 to specifically
feature outcomes research. A full day of programming was aimed at outcomes researchers and was a great
success, with several prominent surgeon-scientists presenting their work.
Dr. John Birkmeyer, a national leader in surgical outcomes research, gave the first Outcomes Keynote speech
on “The Past, Present, and Future of Surgical Health Services Research.” The 2011 program also included
several outcomes-related oral presentations and quick shot sessions chosen from the large number of abstracts
submitted to the Academic Surgical Congress.
8
 There was also a panel session titled “Improving Surgical Quality at the Population Level.” In this session,
Dr. David Flum gave an overview of his quality improvement program for Washington state, which was
recently awarded a 12 million dollar grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Follow AAS on Twitter! for comparative effectiveness research. Dr. Karl Bilimoria gave an overview of the American College of
Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP), highlighting upcoming changes
in the measurement platform. As the final speaker in this session, I described my own recently funded NIH
grant that evaluates several Medicare demonstration projects aimed at improving quality and reducing
costs for surgical patients.

We believe this initiative made a clear statement that the AAS and ASC are proactively responding to
changes in the academic surgeon phenotype. To further its relationship with surgical outcomes researchers,
the AAS has created an Outcomes Research Committee that I will chair. Nominations for members of
www.twitter.com/ the committee have been requested, and online voting recently closed.This new committee will continue
AcademicSurgery to work with the SOC representative and AAS leadership to help make the Academic Surgical Congress
an optimal venue for surgical outcomes researchers to present work, share ideas, and network with other
like-minded individuals.

I N FOR M AT ION & T ECH NOLOGY

COM MIT T E E R E V IE W
Dr. Carter Smith, Member of the Information & Technology Committee
Electronic medical records (EMRs) or electronic health records (EHRs) have been hailed by proponents
as reducing costs, eliminating redundancy in tests, minimizing errors, and increasing the efficiency of
healthcare. Others are concerned about costs, inefficiencies, and the unintended errors that can occur during
the transition from paper to computerized records. The following is one physician’s (IT Committee member
Dr. Carter Smith’s) view of EMRs—not only as a surgical resident, but also as a member of the EMR team.

What are the foreseeable pluses and minuses of EMRs?

In general, there is a painful adoption period, but most users (including surgeons) find the electronic system
to be beneficial once it is in place and they have adapted to it. Don Detmer, MD, FACS, the medical director
of the Division of Advocacy and Health Policy at the American College of Surgeons (ACS), talked about a
Dr. Carter Smith “valley of the shadow” period at last year’s ACS Clinical Congress; it gets worse before it gets better. Overall
the EMRs provide a large amount of information in a single, often easily searchable, place. They have potential
for benefit through use of clinical decision support. They provide a vehicle for workflow redesign and data
“EMRs are here for quality improvement. Each practice is different, but they can improve billing accuracy and capture. In
general, inefficiency is the biggest problem with EMRs. The reality is that everyone spends much more time
whether we like inputting discrete data, like orders. However, there are huge time savings on data retrieval and data analysis.
EMRs are here whether we like them or not, and the only way to stay efficient is to learn to work within them.
them or not…The The skill set of interacting with a computer is no longer a luxury, but a necessity.

skill set of interacting What was the response of residents and staff at your institution to EMR implementation?

with a computer is Most of the residents and staff at our institution accepted the EMR fairly readily, but once it was in place
they noted many items they would like tweaked or improved. It took six months or a year before consensus
no longer a luxury, opinion shifted to positive.

but a necessity.” How can residents ease the implementation of EMRs?

A small number of residents, including myself, were involved initially in beta testing many of the clinical
applications of our EMR system, and we provided feedback about workflow changes that were needed for EMR
implementation. We aided in the creation of specialty-specific templates and order sets and sat on committees
to problem-solve when difficult issues arose. We learned the limitations and strengths of the EMR system.
With each successive upgrade or roll-out, the role of the residents involved has become more formalized. Now
we sit on a resident super-user committee. These residents are responsible for training incoming residents in
the use of the system, providing ongoing support and feedback for their specialty, participating in email and
online discussions, meeting monthly with the informatics directors, providing shadowing opportunities for
IT staff, disseminating important updates and reporting changes to colleagues, and beta testing new features
and system changes before implementation.

9
Why should residents be actively involved in the implementation of EMRs?

• Improved ease of implementation of EMRs among residents and fellows: Resident super-users provide the majority of instruction to trainees
within their own discipline, as well as real-time support during system upgrades or roll-outs. Not only do the residents feel more prepared for their
first week, but nurses and senior residents feel that the new residents are better prepared, as well. The resident super-users provide faster, better
help for struggling users and can address critical problems quickly.

• Better patient care: When caring for patients, time and patience can run short. Having a well-trained resident to find and implement a solution
can be vital. The super-user can provide support and aid in troubleshooting with nursing and other clinical staff. Because the residents are well
trained and supported, the hospital as a whole functions more efficiently. Solutions to problems may be found in real time, and super-users have
the vocabulary to work with nursing informatics and IT to describe and work through problems.

• Quality improvement: All resident groups in the hospital are represented on the EMR committee, which has a direct impact on quality
improvement within the institution. Resident super-users at our institution participate in briefings and debriefings by email during large system
changes, and the problems they identify are reported to the director of informatics. These issues are then discussed with a multidisciplinary panel
to decide priority and resource allocation. This allows the institution to identify and resolve problems quickly, which leads to better end-user
satisfaction and, ultimately, better patient care.

• Opportunities for leadership at a junior level: This experience allows residents to develop rapport and a working relationship with leaders in
many areas of the hospital. Trainees now have a representative at the hospital level who can voice their concerns, and they have a go-to person who
truly understands their workflows, can answer their questions, and can troubleshoot problems specific to the trainees’ daily tasks. Furthermore,
as we finish our training and move into staff positions, this experience will prepare us to take leadership roles in our new institutions in many
areas, including informatics.

Are there any downsides to resident involvement in EMR implementation?

There still remains some question, both at an institutional level and at a program level, about the value of residents spending time working this closely
with the electronic record. There are concerns that these responsibilities may conflict with clinical commitments, especially in light of the newest
work-hour restrictions.

How would you respond to those who do not believe that involvement with the implementation of EMRs is valuable to residents or to the
hospital?

I believe that resident involvement in the EMR is, and will continue to be, essential. Residents possess a unique perspective with respect to workflow
and daily activity within the institution. Especially within surgical specialties in academic institutions, residents write many of the orders, author
most clinical documentation, and retrieve needed information from patient records. Residents should be trained by residents. Even trainees in other
specialties do not understand the specific needs of surgical residents. Residents who are now involved in the super-users group are learning valuable
skills with respect to quality improvement, work efficiency, and interacting with the EMR and IT staff. Ultimately, I learned that if surgeons (or
residents) are not at the table, no one else will look out for our priorities. If we want a system that works for us, we have to invest the time and money
now to make it that way.

Save the NEW Dates for the

7 th
Annual Academic Surgical Congress
The Association for Academic Surgery and the Society of University Surgeons are excited
to announce the NEW dates for the 7th Annual Academic Surgical Congress (ASC).
Please mark your calendar to attend the ASC on:
February 14-16, 2012
The meeting will take place at the luxurious Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, which has been
awarded the AAA Five Diamond Award, as well as the Forbes Five-Star Award.
The 7th Annual ASC promises to be yet another outstanding educational event,
with state of the art lectures, keynote and presidential addresses and presentations of the most
advanced research efforts by some of the nation’s leaders in academic surgery.
Stay tuned for more information about upcoming abstract submission deadlines.

10
 Association for Academic Surgery

2011 Fall Courses

October 21 & 22, 2011* • San Francisco, CA

FUNDAMENTALS CAREER
OF SURGICAL DEVELOPMENT
RESEARCH COURSE COURSE
Chairs: Jon C. Gould, MD Chairs: Daniel Anaya, MD
& Bethany C. Sacks, MD & Herbert J. Zeh, III, MD

WHO SHOULD ATTEND? WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Those in Their First Year of Research Residents
Residents Fellows
Fellows Junior Faculty
New Faculty

WHAT WILL BE TAUGHT? WHAT WILL BE TAUGHT?

This course provides the foundation
for a successful basic or clinical science research
experience, including advice and practical tips.
Topics include:
“Planning a Career in Surgical Research”
“Abstract Writing”
“Researching and Writing a Scientific Manuscript”
“Grant Writing” ...and many more.
How to…
Choose the right job and negotiate
for what you will need to succeed.
Choose the right mentors.
Achieve balance between career and family life.
Write effective grant applications.
Plan an effective strategy for getting promoted.

REGISTRATION FOR THESE COURSES WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE AAS THIS SUMMER.
Please watch your email for an announcement and visit www.aasurg.org for more information.
* Advance of the ACS Clinical Congress
Association for Academic Surgery • 11300 West Olympic Blvd., Suite 600 • Los Angeles, CA 90064
Phone: 310-437-1606 • Fax: 310-437-0585 • Email: registration@aasurg.org