News Items

The Jagelman Award honors the memory of Dr. David Jagelman, whose advocacy for his patients at the Cleveland Clinic is legendary. 

Dr. Jagelman founded and directed the Cleveland Clinic’s Familial Polyposis Registry and had become chair of the Department of Colorectal Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Florida shortly before he died from kidney cancer in 1993, at age 53.   

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In 2004, Kristin Lindquist started planning for the very first Get Your Rear in Gear® run after losing her best friend and sister, Susie Lindquist Mjelde, to colon cancer. What started as one women’s vision has since grown into the Minneapolis-based Colon Cancer Coalition, a national coalition of people determined to end colorectal cancer deaths by increasing screening and educating others about the signs and symptoms of colon cancer. The Coalition wants all people to understand their risk factors and get the right screening at the right time.

Their signature Get Your Rear in Gear® and Tour de Tush® event series are volunteer-driven in communities throughout the United States. In 2017 alone they granted over $1 million to local community programs to raise screening rates, increase awareness, and educate the public about the signs and symptoms of this disease.

As my year as president comes to a close, I thought it might be helpful to summarize a few of the changes and initiatives we have implemented. It is just over one year since we transitioned to self-management, and a lot has been accomplished to set us on a course of efficient, effective and sustainable self-governance:

• We have implemented a systematic approach to task completion and leadership roles, so the wheel will not be reinvented with each new president.
• Instead of frequent emails with bits and pieces of information coming at unpredictable times, our staff provides us with a weekly ASCRS digest with curated and selected updates for the membership.
• I was especially pleased with the creation of a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force under the leadership of Drs. Erin King-Mullins and Wayne Tuckson that has now become a standing committee of ASCRS. With their help and guidance, we have made a number of meaningful changes in how all of our members can participate, lead and have their voices heard. For the first time this year, we will be reaching out to underserved communities as a routine to try and improve access to screening and high quality care for colorectal cancer. Every time ASCRS visits a city for our Annual Meeting, we will routinely partner with local communities to make this a standard initiative.
• Our Mentoring Task Force has successfully completed a pilot aimed at our early career members under the guidance of Dr. Ann Lowry's steady hand, and these opportunities will be greatly expanded in the year ahead.
• Drs. Alessandro Fichera, Mike McGee and Lisa Cannon have successfully launched a video-based mentorship series, aimed at creating a community of mutually respectful learners who share and discuss tricks of the trade through review of operative videos. Over 300 ASCRS members registered for the last session focused on high IMA/IMV ligation.
• Dr. Najjia Mahmoud is leading efforts to revamp our educational platform, which we anticipate will be a “one-stop-shop” for all ASCRS educational assets.
• Dr. Larissa Temple has been designing and planning a society-wide quality collaborative, so we can all work together to define best practices and allow us all to benchmark our outcomes in a supportive and constructive manner.

 
There are so many other "irons in the fire" and I sincerely apologize that space constraints only allow me to highlight a few of them. We have so many incredibly talented members with great ideas, and a major focus of my year has been to make ASCRS a bit more “bottoms up” (pun sort of intended) and provide an opportunity for more folks to participate and lead. I don’t like to brag, but this has really allowed me to do what I do best…..take credit for other people’s work!
 
On a more serious note, I think it is critically important that we all register for and participate in this year's virtual Annual Scientific Meeting. Of course, we ALL look forward to seeing each other, but a virtual component to our meeting is here to stay and we will be especially interested in your opinion on what worked and what did not. I think you all will be amazed by what can be accomplished virtually and blown away by the incredible program that Program Chair Konstantin Umanskiy and Co-chairs Emily Huang, Radhika Smith and Emily Steinhagen have put together for us. There’s never been a more important time for all of us individually and for our specialty to make the extra effort to connect with each other.
 
Lastly, I wanted to thank David Westman and our incredible staff for their hard work and help throughout the year. I am grateful to the Executive Council, our Committee Chairs, hard working committee members and the entire membership for their support, advice and partnership throughout this crazy year. I cannot emphasize enough how lucky we are to have Dr. Tom Read in the on-deck circle as the next president. He has been a strong and steadfast "consigliere" for me this past year and is clearly a leader of the highest intellect, integrity and vision.

Becoming a Fellow or International Fellow of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons is a rigorous process befitting the remarkable achievements of this highest class of membership. ASCRS Fellows enjoy the right to vote, hold office, serve on any committee of the Society, attend and appear on scientific programs and participate in discussions of scientific papers. Fellows are alternatively known as  “voting members” of ASCRS. Each year the current voting members are asked to give formal approval to applicants for Fellow and International Fellow membership in ASCRS, who have met the rigorous requirements.
    Anthonia Adewole, MD^*
Piyush Aggarwal, MD
Jennifer Agnew, MD
Bader Alshaban, MD^*
Anushka Arumugasaamy, MD
Theodor Asgeirsson, MD
Greta Bernier, MD
Avinash Bhakta, MD
Kristina Booth, MD
Matthew Brady, MD
Stephen Brandstetter, MD
Ahmed Chadi, MD
Ayana Chase, MD
Matthew Chauviere, MD
Jill Clark, MD^*
Ohmar Coughlin, MD
Thomas Curran, MD, MPH
Michelle DeLeon, MD, FACS
Jeffrey Douaiher, MD
Joanne Favuzza, DO
Justin Fischer, MD
Wissam Halabi, MD
David J. Hiller, MD
Christine Hsieh, MD
Michael Huck, MD
Nimalan Jeganathan, MD
Gifty Kwakye, MD, MPH
Erica Laipply, MD
Lawrence Lee, MD
Kathleen Lee, MD
Jason Lei, MD
Nicole Lopez, MD
Sridevi Maddineni, MD
Tafadzwa Makarawo, MD
Nathalie Mantilla, MD
Benjamin Martin, MD
Kiranmayi Palla Muddasani, MD
Jennifer Paruch, MD
Nikhil Patel, MD
Uma Phatak, MD^*
David Rosen, MD
Dan Enger Ruiz, MD
Maryam Naseem Saidy, MD
Daniel Sarmiento, MD
Jeffrey Scow, MD
Beth-Ann Shanker, MD
Holly Sheldon, MD
Benjamin Shogan, MD
John Tillou, MD
Poornima Vanguri, MD
Maria Sophia Villanueva, MD
Nicole Wieghard, MD
Lauren Wilson, MD
Matthew R. Wilson, MD
Joshua Wolf, MD
Christian Zalai, MD

The ASCRS Annual Business Meeting and State of the Society Address will take place Tuesday, April 27 at 12:15 PM EDT/ 11:15 AM CDT/ 10:15 AM MDT/ 9:15 AM PDT

^*NOTE: Subject to approval by the Executive Council at their meeting April 24, 2021, the member applicants above will be added to the list of Fellows for official approval during the 2021 Annual Business Meeting.

Each year the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS) recognizes up to six (6) Honorary Fellows. Honorary Fellowship is designed to honor individuals, regardless of specialty, recognizing outstanding achievements and contributions made to fields related to Colon and Rectal Surgery. Nominees for Honorary Fellow should have significantly contributed to peer-reviewed literature and/or introduced, fostered and/or advanced innovation and/or education in the specialty of colorectal surgery; demonstrated significant and/or sustained leadership within their national or regional society; developed and promulgated significant clinical and/or research and/or technological advances in the field of colon and rectal surgery.

The ASCRS Nominating Committee submits the following slate of 2021 Honorary Fellows for election at the Society's Annual Business Meeting.

Dr. Nasser Al-Sanea
Dr. Al-Sanea is Professor of Colon and Rectal Surgery at Alfaisal University and Consultant and Heald of the Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He established the Saudi Society in Colon and Rectal Surgery, the Saudi Fellowship in Colon & Rectal Surgery, the Enterostomal Therapy Diploma, and the Saudi Hereditary Colon & Rectal Diseases Registry at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (KFSHRC). His other responsibilities include:

• Director General, Health Affairs, Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University
• Vice-President, International Society of University Colon & Rectal Surgeons
• Director of the Saudi Registry for Hereditary Colorectal Diseases
• Editor-in-Chief, World Journal of Colon & Rectal Surgery Editor-in-Chief & Annals of Saudi Medicine
• Editor-in-Chief, Al-Takhassusi Magazine
• Editorial Board Member, Saudi Journal of Gastroenterology

 
Dr. Nam Kyu Kim, Seoul, Korea                             
Dr. Kim is an academic and research leader in colon and rectal surgery in Korea, as well as a leader in robotic colorectal surgery in Korea, with 55 grants and 11 clinical trials. Developed department of surgery at Yonsei University, Seoul Korea into its current prominence in region. He had held leadership positions in multiple Korean and Asia Pacific surgical societies including:

• 2009-2011: Chairman of Board of Regents of Korean Society of Coloproctology
• 2010-2014: Chairman of Board of Regents of Korean Society of Surgical Oncology
• 2012-2017: President of Asia Pacific Colorectal Cancer Association 
• 2017-Present: Member of National Academy of Medicine, Korea
• 2017-Present: Associate Editor, Disease of the Colon and Rectum
• 2014-Present: Emeritus Editor in Chief, Annals of Coloproctology
• 2018-2019: President of Multidisciplinary Cancer Commission 
• 2018- Present: Governor, Chapter of South Korea, American College of Surgeons

 
Mr. Charles Knowles                                               
Mr. Knowles is Professor of Surgery, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) He is a leading researcher in basic and clinical science aspects of pelvic floor disorders and GI neuromuscular diseases, as well as a leader in the development of international research and clinical collaborative efforts. His leadership roles in that area include:

• Deputy Director NIHR Pragmatic Clinical Trials Unit (PCTU) (2018 to date): The unit specialises in evaluation of complex interventions e.g., surgery
• Director of National Bowel Research Centre
• Barts Life Sciences: NHS Trust Board Lead for Surgery
• Acting Chair of Research Committee, Cleveland Clinic London.
• Chair of Grants Committee and Trustee. Bowel Research UK (2020 to date).
• Clinical advisor to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Continence Care (from 2015 to date).
• R&D lead to the National Pelvic Floor Society, affiliation: Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (from 2013 to date).
• Chair of Research Committee: European Society of Coloproctology. Strategic oversight of growing portfolio of global studies (snapshot audits and now randomized trials e.g., EAGLE) (2018 to date).
• Chair of the International Continence Society ICI guideline committee for faecal incontinence surgery (2018 to date).

 
Dr. Thandinkosi Madiba                              
Dr. Mandiba is Emeritus Professor of Surgery, Senior Research Associate Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Group Department of Surgery, The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Durban, South Africa.  His career has included many “firsts” as well as multiple leadership positions. They include

• First African to become a full Professor of Surgery at UKZN
• First African to become Head of the Department of Surgery at UKZN
• Established the Durban Colorectal Unit and Clinic at lnkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital in Durban
• Founding member & Past President of the South African Colorectal Society
• Past President of the Association of Surgeons of South Africa
• First African to be awarded to International Scholarship of the ASCRS in 2002
• First person from the African continent to become an International Fellow member of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons

 
Dr. April Roslani                                          
Dr. Roslani is Professor of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Malaya. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She also serves as Dean, Dean's Office, Faculty of Medicine, and Deputy Director (Surgical), University Malaya Medical Centre, University Malaya. Dr Roslani has served in leadership positions in multiple Malaysia and Asia Pacific professional societies including:

• College of Surgeons, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, Honorary Secretary, 2013
• International Council of Coloproctology, Member, 2015 to 2018
• Asia Pacific Federation of Coloproctology, Council Member, 2015 to 2017
• ASEAN Society of Colorectal Surgeons, Council Member, 2016 to 2018
• College of Surgeons, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, Vice-President, 2016
• Malaysian Society of Colorectal Surgeons, Honorary Secretary, 2017
• Asia Pacific Federation of Coloproctology, President-Elect, 2017 to 2019; President 2019. 
• Malaysian Society of Colorectal Surgeons, Vice President, 2019
• College of Surgeons, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, President, 2019
• International Society for Digestive Surgery (ISDS), Executive Committee Member, 2019 to 2021

The ASCRS Nominating Committee submits the following slate of Executive Council Officers and Members-at-Large for election at the Society’s Annual Business Meeting on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. 

Given the necessity of holding a virtual Annual Business Meeting, other nominations for Executive Council must be received via email directed to [email protected] no later than April 16, 2021.

President: Thomas E. Read, MD
Thomas E. Read, MD serves as the Cracchiolo Family Professor and Chief, Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine. Dr. Read has served as Chair of several ASCRS committees, including as Program Chair for the 2007 annual meeting, and represented our specialty at the American College of Surgeons, serving as Chair of the Advisory Council and as specialty Governor.  He has also served as President, and Chair of the Examination Committee, of the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery. Dr. Read has an interest in editorial work, having served as Co-Editor of Diseases of the Colon, and currently serves as the colorectal Associate Editor for Annals of Surgery and Editor-in-Chief of Seminars in Colon and Rectal Surgery. Dr. Read has been fortunate to participate in the training of many outstanding physicians and is grateful to have been the recipient of 20 awards for teaching, education and mentorship.

President-Elect: Conor P. Delaney, MD, PhD
Dr. Delaney is CEO and President for the Cleveland Clinic Florida Region having previously served as Chairman of the Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. He has served on many ASCRS committees, in addition to terms on Council, and as Treasurer. Dr. Delaney also serves on committees for many national and international societies and editorial boards, and was president of the Midwest Surgical Association and the International Society of Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery. He has lectured and published extensively in colorectal surgery, and currently holds the Robert and Suzanne Tomsich Distinguished Chair in Healthcare Innovation.

Vice President: Matthew G. Mutch, MD
Dr. Matthew Mutch is the current Chief of the Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, MO.  He also serves as the Secretary for ASCRS, is a board member of the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgeons and is an associate editor for Diseases of Colon and Rectum.  He has also served as the Chair of the Committee on Committees and Self-Assessment committees, and was the Program Chair for the 2010 ASCRS Annual Meeting.

Past President: Neil H. Hyman, MD
Dr. Hyman is Professor of Surgery, Chief of the Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery and Co-director of the Center for Digestive Diseases at the University of Chicago Medicine. He is President of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, and Director of the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery.




Secretary: Najjia N. Mahmoud, MD
Dr. Najjia Mahmoud is Chief of the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. She is immediate past President of the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery and is a current Member-at-Large of the Executive Council of ASCRS.  She has served as Chair of Continuing Certification at the ABCRS and has been involved in numerous committees at ASCRS. She has also served on the Board of Trustees of the Research Foundation and as Vice-Chair of the 2008 Annual Tripartite Meeting.   


Treasurer: Sonia Ramamoorthy, MD
Dr. Sonia Ramamoorthy is the Chief of the Division of Colorectal Surgery at UC San Diego Health System. She served as Member-at-Large on the ASCRS Executive Council from 2016-2019 and as ASCRS/Research Foundation Treasurer from 2020-2021. She is the founding director of the ASCRS Leadership and Professional Development Program and has served on several ASCRS committees including New Technology where she was Chair from 2013-2016 and as Assistant Program Chair of the Tripartite meeting in 2017. Dr. Ramamoorthy is currently completing her MBA at the Radys School of Management at UCSD.  

President, Research Foundation of the ASCRS: Ronald Bleday, MD
Dr. Ronald Bleday serves as the Chief of the Section of Colorectal Surgery and Associate Chair of Surgery for Quality and Safety at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA. He is also Co-Chair of the Colon and Rectal Cancer clinic at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA. He is the President of the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery Research Foundation. He previously headed the Scientific Committee of the ASCRS Research Foundation has been Principal Investigator or two cooperative group trials.



Members-at-Large
2019-2022
Charles M. Friel, MD is a Professor of Surgery at the University of Virginia where he also serves as the Program Director for general surgery and the chief of the section of colon and rectal surgery. Dr. Friel has been at UVA since 2001 after completing his general surgery training at the BI-Deaconess Medical Center and his Colorectal Fellowship at the University of Minnesota. His career has focused on surgical education, for which he has been recognized nationally with the ASE Philip J. Wolfson Outstanding Teacher Award and by admission into the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators. In addition to serving on several ASCRS committees, he has chaired the self-assessment committee (CARSEP) and is also currently a co-chair for the ACS self-assessment committee (SESAP). 

Jan Rakinic, MD is Professor of Surgery, Chief of the Section of Colorectal Surgery and Vice Chair for Safety, Quality, and Clinical Operations of the Department of Surgery at Southern Illinois University, and the Program Director of the SIU-Springfield Clinic Colorectal Surgery Residency, having begun the program in 2007 with acceptance of the first trainee in 2009. Dr. Rakinic has served the field of Colorectal Surgery extensively: as Chair of the Residency Review Committee for Colon and Rectal Surgery for the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education, as President of the Association of Program Directors in Colon and Rectal Surgery, and on the ACGME Milestones Project/Colon and Rectal Surgery Group. She is a past President of the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery and a Senior Board Examiner for the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery. She has served on many ASCRS committees during her career.

Sharon L. Stein, MD, FACS, FASCRS, is a colorectal surgeon at University Cleveland Medical Center (UH) and Associate Professor, Surgery at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine. She is the Director of University Hospitals Surgical Outcomes Center: UH RISES.  She is the co-founder of the Annual Colon and Rectal Surgery Career Course and faculty mentor for the Sunday night colon and rectal surgery educational program.  She has served on numerous ASCRS committees including chair of the Public Relations Committee and Young Surgeons Committee. She currently serves as National Program Chair of the 2022 Annual Scientific Meeting.  


2020-2023
Liliana Bordeianou MD, MPH is the Chief of the Colorectal Surgery and the Pelvic Floor Disorders Centers at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Co-Chair of the Mass General Brigham HealthCare Colorectal Surgery Collaborative. Dr. Bordeianou served on and led as vice chair or chair, several ASCRS committees. Most recently, Dr. Bordeianou serves as the founding chair of the ASCRS Steering Committee on Pelvic Floor Disorders and the Chair of the Pelvic Floor Disorders Consortium. She is also a member of the editorial board for the Diseases of Colon and Rectum and an examiner for the American Board of Colorectal Surgery.

Craig A. Reickert, MD, MBA serves as the Division Head of Colon and Rectal Surgery and Vice-Chair of Clinical Operations in the Department of Surgery at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI. He has previously served on multiple ASCRS and ACS committees and is currently the Vice-Chair of the Continuing Education Committee.



Elizabeth C. Wick, MD is a professor of surgery at the University of California, San Francisco where she also serves as Vice Chair for Quality and Safety in the Department of Surgery. She combines clinical work with research in perioperative quality and safety and has been continuously funded by the NIH and AHRQ since 2010. Liza is currently leading a national collaborative aimed at accelerating adoption of enhanced recovery principles, AHRQ Safety Program for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery.



2021-2024
Debra H. Ford, MD is Associate Professor of Surgery, Head of the Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery and the Sr. Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC.  In addition, she is the founding medical director of the Howard University Health Sciences Simulation and Clinical Skills Center (ACS AEI). She currently serves on the ASCRS Membership Committee and has previously been a member of the following ASCRS Committees: Awards, Program, Young Surgeons, Resident, and Self-Assessment.

Jonathan A. Laryea, MD serves as Chief of the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery and Professor of Surgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.  He is also the Medical Director of the Cancer Service Line at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. He is the Vice Chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee of ASCRS. He previously served on the Young Surgeons Committee, Fundamentals of Rectal Cancer Committee, CARSEP Committee, Program Committee and the Diversity Taskforce.

Scott R. Steele, MD, MBA serves as the Chair of Department of Colorectal Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH. He is the President-elect of the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery and serves as a Co-Editor for Diseases of the Colon & Rectum. He has previously served on multiple ASCRS committees and been the Vice-Chair or Chair of four, as well as serving as the Vice-Chair of the 2017 Annual Meeting. 




Nominations for the Members-at-Large, President, President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer shall be made by the Nominating Committee in accordance with the procedure set forth in Article X, Section 1(B) of the Bylaws.

Read the 2020 ASCRS Business Meeting Minutes ahead of this year's meeting on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. 

Other Nominations

View the 2021 nominees for ASCRS Fellow and International Fellow, as well as the 2021 Honorary Fellow nominees.