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

The Executive Council and members of the Honorary Fellowship Committee are pleased to present the 2023 Honorary Fellows.

Professor Sebastiano Biondo, Spain
Professor of Surgery, University of Barcelona
PhD, University of Barcelona
Chief of General and Digestive Surgery at Bellvitge University Hospital
Interests-colorectal cancer, diverticular disease, wound closure and surgical site infections
Collaborator of ORALEV, Turnbull-BCN, and DIVER trials and co-PI or investigator of multiple other trials
Past President of Spanish Society of Coloproctology and Catalan Surgical Society
Editor of Spanish Journal of Surgery and editorial board of British Journal of Surgery
 
Dr. Cesar Decanini, Mexico
Chair of Surgery at American British Hospital, Mexico City
Program director of oldest MIS fellowship
Clinical interests in MIS, robotic surgery and surgical staplers
Opened first colorectal clinic in the Army Hospital in Mexico City
Trained hundreds of surgeons and seen as the surgeon who advanced the specialty of colon and rectal surgery in Mexico and other countries in Central and Latin America
Widely regarded as “El Maestro”/Master Surgeon in Mexico and key opinion leader in colon and rectal surgery
Under his guidance over a dozen Mexican surgeons completed colon and rectal residencies in the US
Translated Essentials of Anorectal Surgery (Goldberg, Gordon, Nivatvongs) into Spanish
 
Professor Jin Gu, China
Professor of Surgical Oncology
Chief of Colorectal Surgery, Peking University Cancer Hospital
President of Peking University SG Hospital
Editorial board of Chinese Journal of General Surgery
Past President of Chinese Anti-cancer Society, Colorectal Cancer Association and Chinese Society of Oncology
Vice President of Beijing Medical Association
Clinical and research interests in radioimmunoguided surgery in colorectal cancer, TME, pelvic autonomic nerve preservation
Led trial of Intermediate Fraction neoadjuvant radiotherapy for rectal cancer (DCR 2013)
 
Professor Gabriela Moeslein (MD), Germany
Professor of Surgery, University of Dusseldorf
Director of the Center for Hereditary Tumors Evanglisches Krankenhaus Bethesda zum Duisburg Academic Hospital of University of Dusseldorf
Research and clinical interests - hereditary colorectal cancer, colorectal cancer
Chair of research committee, European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP)
Director of European Hereditary Tumor Group
On the Board of several patient advocacy groups for Lynch syndrome and Hereditary cancer
Secretary of ESCP
Program chair of ESCP
2022 ISUCRS Angelita Habr Gama Award
 
Willem Rudolf Schouten MD, PhD, Netherlands
Prior Chief of Colorectal Surgery, University of Rotterdam
PhD in 1990 for research on internal anal sphincter specifically the effects of sphincterotomy on perianal fistula and fissure
Pioneering force in establishment of colorectal surgery as a legitimate specialty for the Netherlands and Europe
Director, Rotterdam Colorectal Research group and served as mentor for many researchers who wrote their PhD thesis
Key opinion leader in Dutch and European surgery
Authored first Dutch colorectal surgery guideline (2003) on hemorrhoids
Research and clinical interests-pelvic floor, basic colorectal physiology, perianal fistula, pouchitis, nitric oxide role in anal sphincter hypertonia and fissure, rectal cancer
TME proctor for the Dutch randomized TME trial
 
Mr. Baljit Singh, UK
Consultant, University of Leicester
Associate Professor of Surgery
Clinical and research interests-colorectal cancer, screening FIT, TATME, IBE
Chair of Education Committee, European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP)
Vice Chair of NICE Technology Appraisal Committee
Involved in national introduction of new technologies including colon capsule and FIT
Chair of NHS Specialized Colorectal Service Clinical References Group
Chair of the East Midlands Cancer Alliance Group
Executive Board ASGBI and ACPGI
Recipient of RCOS Louis Alexander fellowship, ACS International guest Scholar, ESCP Japanese Traveling Fellow, ASCRS travel scholarship
Developed NICE colorectal cancer guidelines and quality standards for colorectal cancer (2022)
PI of BIOPEX, BIOPEX-2 and ACCURE trial
 

We hope you will join us in Seattle June 3-6, 2023 to meet our honorees.