Monthly News Roundup

Three Department of Surgery Faculty Honored during Convocation 

Scott M. Bradley, M.D. Honored with the Distinguished Faculty Service Award

Not many recipients of the Distinguished Faculty Service Award have the honor of receiving a letter of nomination from the faculty member who recruited them to MUSC. However, Fred Crawford, M.D., Distinguished University Professor, who recruited Scott Bradley, M.D. to lead the Congenital Surgery program in 1995,expressed support this way: Dr. Bradley “has taken a very good Congenital Heart Surgery Program and transformed it into a truly world class program…currently ranked as the 7th best program in the United States.” Such rankings are meaningful institutionally; but they are comforting and critical to the children and families who benefit from the expertise that Dr. Bradley brings as a builder of expert, high-functioning surgical teams.

Virgilio George, M.D. Honored with the Outstanding Clinician Award

Virgilio George, M.D. excels in patient care, has a deep passion for inspiring future surgical leaders, and is an outstanding collaborator. His positive energy and smile are contagious to all that have the benefit of working alongside him, learning from him, and being cared for by him. His impact as an educator and mentor is manifested by the significant number of surgical resident mentees who have gone on to fellowship training in colorectal surgery.

Rupak Mukherjee, Ph.D. Honored with the Excellence in Interprofessional Education & Collaborative Practice Award

Rupak Mukherjee, Ph.D. has been a long-time advocate for interprofessional education, undergraduate medical education, and students. He began serving as a facilitator of interprofessional courses and events offered by the Office of Interprofessional Initiatives almost ten years ago and has consistently continued his support throughout the years. In 2015, Mukherjee assumed responsibility for aspects of first-year medical student curriculum, including integration of interprofessional learning opportunities for students as an effort to advance collaborative practice, utilizing guest lecturers and interprofessional case work and designing special learning opportunities for students to build their skills as members of collaborative health science teams.

Welcome, New Faculty!

We are excited to announce the new faculty who join our team over the next few weeks.

Ian C. Bostock, M.D. MS joins the MUSC Department of Surgery as an assistant professor in the division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Dr. Bostock’s academic and clinical focus is in General Thoracic Surgery. He specializes in lung cancer, esophageal cancer, mesothelioma, mediastinal tumors, chest wall tumors, and benign esophageal diseases such as reflux, achalasia, and paraoesophageal hernias. Additionally, he has an interest in Robotic Surgery. Dr. Bostock completed his Thoracic Surgery fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and his General Surgery training at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Adam Tanious, M.D., MMSc joins the division of Vascular Surgery. His clinical interests include the treatment of patients with aortic, carotid, peripheral arterial, and venous disease. He likewise has a particular interest in multidisciplinary collaboration for complex cases where vascular mobilization and/or reconstruction is anticipated. His research interests revolve around trainee education as well as utilizing national databases to identify trends and advance patient care. He joins MUSC after completing his Vascular Surgery Integrated Residency + 2 years of dedicated research at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where he served as Chief Resident in the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery.

Matthew Gibson, M.D. joins the division of Vascular Surgery as an assistant professor. Dr. Gibson has practice locations in Murrells Inlet and Georgetown, South Carolina. His primary clinical interests are treating patients with peripheral artery disease, surgical hemodialysis access creation and maintenance, endovascular treatments of arteries and veins including stent placement, management of carotid artery disease, and treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms. He is also certified by ARDMS for the interpretation of non-invasive vascular ultrasound studies. Dr. Gibson graduated from the MUSC Vascular Surgery Integrated Residency program and he received his medical degree from the Mayo Medical School in Rochester, MN.

Ahmad Alqassieh, M.D. joins the MUSC Department of Surgery as a clinical instructor in the division of Transplant Surgery. Dr. Alqassieh specializes in abdominal organ transplantation with a special interest in vascular access surgery for dialysis patients and kidney transplant. Dr. Alqassieh joins MUSC after successful completion of the MUSC Abdominal Organ Transplant Fellowship program. Prior to entering the transplant fellowship, he was a surgeon at the King Hussein Cancer Center in Amman, Jordan.

New Leadership Roles Announced

Congratulations to the following faculty for their new leadership positions in the Department of Surgery!

• A. Sharee Wright, M.D. - Vice Chair for Diversity and Inclusion
• Andrea Abbott, M.D. MSCR - Vice Chair for Faculty Life and Wellness
• David Mahvi, M.D. - Vice Chair for Faculty Development
• Jean Marie Ruddy, M.D. - Associate Vice Chair for Research

MUSC President David J. Cole, M.D. FACS Honored by the SC ACS

MUSC President David J. Cole, M.D. FACS was recognized by the South Carolina Chapter of the American College of Surgeons (SC ACS) for his leadership and significant contributions to health, safety and welfare of patients in the Palmetto state. The SC ACS “Honored Surgeon Award” honors those Fellows who have demonstrated by their interest and conduct in their communities and the Chapter, an abiding interest in the quality of medical care, medical education and medical research. The honoree has demonstrated leadership in and made significant contributions to the health, safety, and/or welfare of patients in South Carolina. This is the highest award that can be given by the South Carolina Chapter of the American College of Surgeons.

Awards and Recognitions

The following faculty and residents have distinguished themselves over the past month with international, national, and regional recognitions:

• Rana Pullatt, M.D. was named Chair to the International Development Committee American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
• Cynthia Talley, M.D. was elected to the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators as an Associate Member
• Nancy Klauber-DeMore, M.D. was appointed MUSC Hollings Cancer Center’s Developmental Cancer Therapeutics Program co-leader.
• Julie Siegel, M.D. PGY-Research received the Resident Award for Oncology at the SC ACS.
• Lex Booth, M.D. PGY- Research was the SCSQC Meeting Keynote Presenter.