MUSC Department of Surgery Newsletter

Colleagues,

I hope you are all warm and safe during the rare winter storm that brought snow, sleet, and ice to the Charleston area! Thank you for your continued commitment to delivering exceptional patient care, education, and research, especially during challenging times. ‌‌I want to especially thank our care team members who served our patients during the storm and our administrative support teams who worked diligently to reschedule our patients' elective surgeries as soon as possible.  ‌‌‌

Sincerely, ‌ ‌

Baliga

MUSC's unique combination of academic research, clinical expertise, and collaborative innovation paves the way for safer, more effective cancer therapies, representing a monumental step forward in cancer care. The newly released MUSC Health video highlights the researchers and clinicians who brought life-changing CAR T-cell therapy from lab to clinic, demonstrating MUSC's commitment to collaboration and innovation. Watch the Video

• Rana Pullatt, M.D., was honored by the Obesity Surgery Society of India with the Honorary Life Membership of the Society in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of obesity surgery and his unwavering commitment to advancing the mission and values of the Obesity Surgery Society of India.
• Mike M. Mallah, M.D., was honored by the College of Medicine's Class of 2025 with the request to deliver the College of Medicine Pearls Lecture during graduation week. ‌‌The Pearls Lecture is one of the most significant and meaningful events of Graduation Week. The Lecture will be held on Thursday, May 15, at 10 a.m.
• Adam Lobbestael, M.D., CT Surgery Resident, was selected as the GME Resident of the Month for December 2024. ‌‌He was recognized for going above and beyond for both his patients and team members.

• Natalie Wapner - Administrative Assistant, CT Surgery‌
• Carol Jones - Surgical Assistant, CT Surgery‌
• Chris Webb, NP - Advanced Practice Provider, CT Surgery‌
• Heather Bunch, PA - Advanced Practice Provider, Foregut Surgery‌
• Allie Wade, PA - Advanced Practice Provider, Vascular Surgery ‌
• Tori Marks, PA - Advanced Practice Provider, Foregut Surgery

MUSC Health first in US to implant new device for the heart disease TR Nicolas Pope, M.D. (January 14MUSC Catalyst News)‌

Robotics power new weight loss surgery option for adolescents at MUSC Health Aaron Lesher, M.D., MSCR (January 13MUSC Catalyst News)

MUSC Board of Trustees greenlights integrated center for cellular therapy project co-leaders: Hongjun Wang, Ph.D., and Shikhar Mehrotra, Ph.D.(December MUSC Press Releases)‌

Officials encourage use of fireworks, offer safety tips on New Year’s Eve Steven Kahn, M.D. (December 31 News2)‌

Researcher offers hope at pancreatic cancer awareness reception William Hawkins, M.D. (Dec. 3 Hollings Cancer Center News)‌

Newsweek names MUSC bariatric team one of America's Best Weight Loss Clinics and Centers Rana Pullatt, M.D. (December 2 MUSC Catalyst News)

Colleagues, ‌ ‌‌

This month, I'm excited to share the first episode of our podcast series, MUSC Surgery Sessions, moderated by Aaron Lesher, M.D., chair of the Curtis P. Artz MUSC Surgical Society. Each month, we will host a new episode, exploring our rich history through interviews with some of our most influential surgeons, many of whom are giants in their fields and have created the strong foundation we stand on today. Our inaugural podcast features H. Biemann Othersen, Jr., M.D. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I did!  ‌‌

Friday is the Gold Humanism Society's "Thank a Resident and Fellow Day," an important day for all of us to recognize the significant work being done by our residents and fellows, who serve as the hospital's "house staff" and are an integral part of the MUSC healthcare team.‌ Please join me on Friday, February 28, by sending your personal expressions of gratitude to our residents and fellows for their tireless work and commitment to excellence. ‌ ‌‌

I hope you enjoy our latest update on the latest news and events in the Department. ‌ ‌‌

Prabhakar Baliga, M.D.
Chair, MUSC Department of Surgery

MUSC Surgery Sessions Podcast Series' Inaugural Episode Features H. Biemann Othersen, Jr., M.D.

MUSC Surgery Sessions Podcast Series is our latest endeavor to celebrate and recognize our esteemed faculty and alumni whose expertise and innovative spirit helped shape the MUSC Department of Surgery and their respective fields. Over the next few months, we will be hosting a new podcast every few weeks. Please join us in our efforts to capture our rich history through the voices of some of the giants in the field by listening to our inaugural episode with H. Biemann Othersen, Jr., M.D. Listen to the Podcast

In 2018, the Gold Humanism Honor Society dedicated a day of recognition for residents and fellows, encouraging medical students at chapters throughout the nation to show their gratitude and appreciation. Thank a Resident and Fellow Day has since expanded to hundreds of programs around the country. Please take a moment to celebrate our residents and fellows on Friday, February 28!

Two MUSC Faculty Selected for TEDxCharleston

Yulia Gavrilova, Ph.D., and Joe Scalea, M.D., are two of this year's speakers at TEDxCharleston 2025, held at Charleston Music Hall on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. ‌Dr. Gavrilova's talk is entitled "Transforming Burn Recovery Through Mental Health," and Dr. Scalea's talk is "4 Reasons to Live." Read more about their TEDx Charleston Talks

• Adam Tanious, M.D., MMSc, is honored with the 2025 VESS Travel Award. Dr. Tanious will be a Visiting Pediatric Vascular Surgery Fellowship at Penn Medicine as part of the Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Society award.
• Arman Kilic, M.D., is the senior author of a multidisciplinary study led by the MUSC cardiogenic shock team entitled ‌Management of patients with Impella 5.5 left ventricular assist devices on a cardiovascular stepdown unit published in the ‌‌Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
• Shikhar Mehrotra, Ph.D., received a $3M NIH R01 Award for his research entitled Dissecting the Mechanism for Transient ER Stress-Induced Anti-Tumor T Cell Response. This study uses carbon monoxide (CO)-induced transient ER stress as an ex vivo immunomodulatory strategy to trigger mitochondrial reprogramming and attaining long-term tumor control upon adoptively transferring tumor reactive T cells.
• Nancy Klauber DeMore, M.D., won a Shark Tank Competition during the annual Hollings Cancer Center Retreat. Dr. DeMore and her team, Anand Mehta, Ph.D., Dauren Adilbay, M.D.,Ph.D. (ENT), Elizabeth Hill, Ph.D., received $25,000 for their research "SFRP2 as a biomarker for early detection of breast cancer."
• Mathew Wooster, M.D., was recognized with the 2024 Department of Surgery Clinical Trials Principal Investigator of the Year Award, given annually by the Clinical Trials team, led by Deanna DeHoff, Clinical Trials Manager.
• Stephany Kim, M.D., PGY-2, received the STS Looking to the Future Scholarship, a best-in-class education and workforce development program that helps general surgery residents and medical students pursue careers in cardiothoracic surgery.
• Kristen Quinn, M.D., PGY-5, has been awarded a $50,000 Acceleration Grant from the SCRA. The objective of the Acceleration Grant is to provide early-stage funding to startups to accelerate a company’s technology and/or business model to the next level of maturity and market readiness.
• Allison Frederick, M.D., PGY-Research, presented Reconstruction of a Sternal Cleft and Ventral Hernia in an Adolescent with Pentalogy of Cantrell Utilizing Titanium Plates during the Southeastern Surgical Conference.
• Alums Busayo Irojah, M.D. and Georgina Nichols, M.D., recently passed the American Board of Plastic Surgery Exam, and are now board certified in Plastic Surgery.

• Doctors and Hospitals Look to Drones to Deliver Drugs, Supplies—and Even Organs (Joe Scalea, M.D., Wall Street Journal, WSJ prescription required to read full article)‌
• MUSC burn center, MUSC Zucker Institute partner with Chitozan Health to develop advanced antimicrobial burn and wound gels (Steven Kahn, M.D., MUSC Press Release)
• Pancreatic Cancer Research Podcast (William Hawkins, M.D. Health focus with Bobbi Conners)

Announcing our February Employees of the Month

Congratulations to February's Employee of the Month awardees, Julie Neville, PA, Pediatric Surgery APP, Morgan Hill, M.D., CT Surgery Resident, and InHong Kang, Ph.D., Staff Scientist in the CCT! ‌ ‌Each month, the Department recognizes one staff member, one APP, and one resident who has demonstrated excellence based on nominations from the faculty, staff, and trainees in the Department.

Upcoming Events!

Please join us for our next Surgery Pride Social and support the Department of Surgery LGBTQ+ Community! We hope to see you on Friday, March 7, from 6 - 8 p.m., ‌at Bar Polari, 1813 Reynolds Ave., Suite C, North Charleston, SC.

The MUSC Global Surgery Program Committee, led by Mike M. Mallah, M.D., is excited to welcome world-renowned global surgeon & an ACS "Icon of Surgery" John Tarpley, M.D., FACS, as this month's keynote speaker. Dr. Tarpley, an innovator and educator, will share his decades-long experience in Global Surgery and how he built a premier global surgery program at Vanderbilt University. Additionally, John Hallmark, M.D., PGY-3, will discuss his two months of surgical rotation in George, South Africa, and Savannah Skidmore, M4, will reflect on her time building the MUSC Global Surgery Program.We hope to see you on Thursday, March 13, at The Peacock, located at 213 E Bay St, Charleston, SC RSVP to join us for some food and refreshments while learning more about the advances in the global surgery program!

RSVP to join us for some food and refreshments while learning more about the advances in the global surgery program!