The Michael e. DeBakey DeparTMenT of Surgery

InsIde2 Resident Research Day Symposium

2 Surgical Intern Boot Camp

3 Surgery Insight Through BaylorSummer Program

3 Skills Olympics

6 Honors and Awards

7 New Research Initiatives

SummeR/FAll 2014

surgery news

i am pleased to share with you this update about the dramatic growth the Michael e. DeBakey Department of Surgery has experienced in 2014 in our clinical, research, and education programs, and about a number of the highly successful professional and academic events that we have conducted this year. notably,

in May we hosted the 20th congress of the Michael e. DeBakey international Surgical Society, a first for our Department. This

event featured a keynote address by Dick cheney highlighting his lifelong battle with heart disease. Many of the medical advances

instrumental to the former Vice president’s survival, including heart transplantation and ventricular assist devices, were pioneered at

Baylor college of Medicine. We also commemorated the life-long professional achievements of two exceptional members of our faculty:

Dr. o.h. frazier, honored on the occasion of the 1000th VaD implant, and Dr. kenneth Mattox, who received the DeBakey Surgical award.

in the context of our exciting new joint role as partners of the new Baylor St. luke’s Medical center, we are delighted to have recruited over 30 new

members to the faculty in the past 2 years; over a dozen recruited in the past 6 months. We are particularly proud of the efforts of Dr. Joseph S. coselli

who recruited Dr. David Sugarbaker as our chief of a new Division of general Thoracic Surgery and director of a new BcM lung institute. Dr. Sugarbaker

joins us after building one of the finest thoracic service programs in the world at Brigham and Women’s hospital.

in further pursuit of our academic mission, we held our 2nd annual resident research Day Symposium, attended by 250 faculty, residents, and students. We

were honored to have Dr. Timothy pawlik, the current president of the association for academic Surgery, present a keynote address on surgical innovation. We heard

a fantastic series of presentations selected from more than 80 resident and student abstract submissions. our research core team of researchers and grants support

staff of nearly a dozen personnel assisted in this success, managing over 121 grants and submissions for department faculty and residents.

finally, we are proud to announce other novel programs to foster faculty and resident academic development and education. The resident research career Development

program guarantees a faculty position to incoming residents who are highly productive in our research track, and a faculty Scholars program provides “protected time” in support of

the research careers of junior faculty. We are very excited about what that lies ahead, and hope that you will join us in learning more about all the achievements, activities, and opportunities

offered by the Michael e. DeBakey Department of Surgery.

ChaIrman’s message

The alumni Symposium & 20th congress of the Michael e. DeBakey international Surgical Society took place at Baylor college of Medicine on May 16-17, 2014.

over 400 attendees, 30 educational sponsors, and exhibitors were present, making it the largest congregation of alumni in many years and one of the best attended meetings of the Surgical Society.

The highly acclaimed event allowed for seamless exchange of information among alumni, current faculty, and residents. formal lectures provided updates on state-of-the-art practices at the Medical center and at alumni institutions and an opportunity to meet some of the great surgeons in the world. The event’s keynote address by multiple heart attack survivor Dick cheney and the subsequent interview with Dr. Todd k. rosengart provided a historical opportunity to hear the former Vice-president speak about his journey of survival against heart disease. he has benefited from ground-breaking cardiothoracic surgical advances made at Baylor college of Medicine, including his VaD implant and heart transplant.

The occasion coincided with two award ceremonies. in recog- nition of VaD pioneer Dr. o.h. “Bud” frazier’s professional accomplishments, the Texas heart institute and the Depart-ment of Surgery joined to celebrate the implantation of the 1000th VaD and to honor Dr. frazier with the Distinguished faculty award. Dr. kenneth l. Mattox was honored with the DeBakey Surgical award for his life-long career of professional achievements as an innovator, clinician, technician, administrator, educator, and researcher in trauma care.

The event’s tremendous success was possible thanks to exceptional team work. in particular, the Department wants to extend its utmost appreciation to Dr. Scott a. leMaire and holly Shilstone, whose careful plan-ning, execution, and leadership resulted in an event many will remember. The Department also extends its thanks to all the staff that supported and contributed to this outstanding event.

alumnI symposIum & 20th Congress of the mIChael e. deBakey InternatIonal surgICal soCIety

todd k. rosengart, md

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2nd annual resIdent researChday symposIum

our 2nd annual resident research Day Symposium offered 23 presentations—selected from 80 abstracts submitted—to an audience of 250 faculty members, residents, and students. for the first time the program included “Quick Shot Scientific” and “Student Quick Shot” presentations, in addition to clinical research Scientific and Basic Science Scientific presentations.

This year, we were honored to have Dr. Timothy pawlik, professor of Surgery and oncology and Director of the Johns hopkins Medicine liver Tumor center Multi-Disciplinary clinic, present this year’s keynote address, “Developing complementary clinical and research programs: intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.” Dr. pawlik presented the process and the results of his research highlighting the importance of having effective multidisciplinary collaborations to accomplish successful research. Specifically for the research residents and students, he shared his views on what it takes to be successful: working hard, being passionate for your career specialty, and selecting the right mentor.

The Department was also honored to have Dr. paul klotman, president and ceo of Baylor college of Medicine, and Dr. linda andrews, Senior Vice president & Dean of Medical education, speak at the event about the importance of developing excellent clinical and basic research as a foundation for the advancement of better treatments to improve patient care at all levels.

the 2nd annual resIdent researCh day symposIum

culminated with awardsfor best presentations

Best Quick shot scientific presentationDr. Somala Mohammed

“improving chimeric antigen receptor modified T-cell function by reversing

the immunosuppressive tumor micro-environment of pancreatic cancer”

Mentor: Dr. William fisher

Best Clinical research scientific presentation Dr. nicole Tapia

“checklist-enhanced handoffs: a randomized controlled trial of standardized surgical

resident handoff”Mentor: Dr. James Suliburk

Best Basic science scientific presentationDr. Darrell Wu

“oxidative stress induces smooth muscle cell contractile dysfunction leading to aortic wall failure”

Mentors: Dr. Scott leMaire and Dr. ying Shen

Best student Quick shot presentationkelsey lau

“The impact of a regional hepato-pancreaticoduodenal surgical program on clinical volume, quality of cancer

care, and outcomes in the Va system.”Mentor: Dr. Daniel anaya

research day winners dr. kelsey lau, dr. darrell wu, dr. nicole tapia, and dr. somala mohammed with dr. daniel anaya, dr. scott lemaire, dr. James suliburk, dr. william fisher and dr. todd rosengart

enterIng surgICal Intern Boot Camp, a fIrst for the

departmentDr. Bindi naik-Mathuria, assistant professor in the Division of

pediatric Surgery, held an entering Surgical internship Boot camp for graduating fourth year medical students. The classes took place

on May 19 and 20. Thirteen students, who will soon enter a surgical residency, enjoyed two days packed with clinical scenarios, skills lab,

and patient simulations. Many faculty members, including Drs. Brad g. Scott, Stephanie gordy, and Juliet holder-haynes, participated in the

boot camp.

first-year medical students volunteered

to act as “stand-in patients” to add an element of realism.

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fifteen outstanding college students with diverse backgrounds from across the country participated in our annual michael e. deBakey summer surgery program.

undergrads get InsIght Into surgery through Baylor

summer program

“all of them are highly accomplished at a very young age. We hope that through the Summer program, we can help stimulate the maturation of the next generation of leaders in our field,” said program Director Shayan izaddoost, MD, phD, assistant professor of surgery.

Dr. izaddoost recalled a comment made once by Dr. Michael e. DeBakey, “one of the legacies of which i am most proud is the many former trainees, at all levels, who dot the globe, practicing the principles learned here —attention to detail and pursuit of excellence, while serving as role models to others.”

The summer students are high achievers with excellent academic records, a biomedical aptitude, and a record of community service. it is therefore not surprising that of this group completing the DeBakey Summer Student program and choosing to ultimately attend medical school, over 95 percent are admitted to the medical or graduate school of their choice. it is also no surprise that former students currently hold positions such as Dean, president, chair, and chief of Staff of their medical institutions, and are the recipients of distinguished service awards.

The stimulating educational environment provided by the Michael e. DeBakey Summer Student program, gives bright young minds the opportunity to thrive, reach even greater potential, and build confidence in their skills. it provides a firm foundation for the pursuit of knowledge. Without question, this visionary program has fulfilled the desires of its designer, Dr. Michael e. DeBakey.

fIrst annual skIlls olympICs

The inaugural Surgical Skills olympics were held in the Baylor college of

Medicine Simulation center on May 28. During the event, general Surgery

residents participated in a friendly, team-based competition to demonstrate their

surgical dexterity, skill, and speed.

Seven teams, each one led by a chief resident, participated in the olympics. competitors

were timed as they competed in seven surgical skills activities. The exercises featured both open

and laparoscopic skills, including open bowel and vascular anastomoses, three laparoscopic

skills activities (peg transfer, pattern cut, and intracorporeal suturing), and open knot tying and

suturing.

competition medals were awarded to the teams scoring the most points across individual events and

clocking in the fastest time on the team relay event.

Team ‘red Sox’ emerged victorious, taking gold medal honors, followed by “yankees” and “rangers” with silver

and bronze, respectively.

Inaugural skills olympics winners (left to right): drs. mirtha gonzalez (team captain), Carlos palacio lascano, somala mohammed, michael kueht, sarah weakley (chief resident),

Catherine seger, galina toneva, and yue gao. not pictured: dr. John mclean.

During my last pa school clinical rotation in surgical oncology, i worked with various surgeons, including Dr. Steven curley

at MD anderson cancer center. Shortly after completing my rotation, i was offered a position working as a surgical oncology

pa with Dr. curley. That was what i wanted to do, and so i jumped at the opportunity. i worked with Dr. curley for almost 6 years, and

when he asked me to join him at Baylor college of Medicine in the Department of Surgery, i, once again, jumped at the chance.

The most satisfying part of my job is to help our cancer patients transition to and from surgery, provide education about their cancer

and surgery, assist in communicating the plan of care, and assist in the patients’ long term care and ongoing surveillance.

Since joining the department in January, i have been involved in other aspects of patient care. With the opening of the new Dan l. Duncan cancer

center and the rapid growth of the Division of Surgical oncology, i will continue to offer clinical and logistical support and advice to help improve

the overall care for our cancer patients.

My contributions to the overall goals of the Department of Surgery bring me great personal satisfaction. i am blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of

Baylor college of Medicine’s Michael e. DeBakey Department of Surgery.

featuring physician assistant allison horner, mpas, pa-C

i am a physician assistant in the Division of Surgical oncology working with Dr. Steven curley in his outpatient clinical practice. i have always had an interest in science and medicine. after graduating from cornell university with a Bachelor of Science degree, i worked in biomedical research for 5 years. i knew that my career in research would be a stepping stone for me as i figured out what direction i wanted to pursue.

i decided to become a physician assistant and enrolled in the Master of physician assistant Studies program at The university of Texas Medical Branch in galveston. My most memorable experience in the program occurred when i was shadowing a pa that worked in oncology. When i saw how much of a difference this one pa made in his cancer patients’ lives, i just knew that becoming a pa in oncology was where i needed to be. Allison Horner, MPAS, PA-C

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In the or lIght

resIdent and fellow graduatIonThe 2014 resident and fellow graduation was a celebration of achievement and recognition of outstanding work.

The Department celebrated the graduation of seven general Surgery chief residents, one aortic Surgery fellow, and twelve residents in the specialties of Thoracic Surgery, pediatric Surgery, plastic Surgery, Surgical critical care, and Vascular Surgery.

in addition, the Department was honored to recognize five faculty members, and four others with awards. (see aWarDS and honorS)

general surgery class of 2014: hector saucedo Crespo, md with Celia n. robinson, md, shiree a. Berry, md, Christy moeller, md, matthew J. wall Jr., md (resident award recipient), sheryl kwak, md, Courtney Balentine, md, and sarah weakley, md

aortic surgery class of 2014: tanuntorn songdechakraiwut, md with program director Joseph s. Coselli, md

Vascular surgery class of 2014: program director Carlos Bechara, md with lorena gonzález, md, and Jesús matos, md

pediatric surgery class of 2014: associate program director mark V. mazziotti, md with howard Chung-hao Jen, md and program director Jed g. nuchtern, md

surgical Critical Care class of 2014: marquinn d. duke, md with program director samir s. awad, md, mph and sylvia martinez, md

plastic surgery class of 2014: larry hollier Jr., md, chief of plastic surgery, with steven Benjamin albright, md; patrick dale Cole, md and shayan Izaddoost, md

thoracic surgery class of 2014: associate program director, Joseph s. Coselli, md, with todd k. rosengart, md, chairman of surgery, Victor manuel rodríguez, md, alexandra tuluca, md, matthew J. henry, md, and muhammad aftab, mBBs

allison horner, mpas, pa-C

featurIng ChIef resIdentJames adam daVIs, mdi am a native houstonian and a rice graduate. early on, i defined myself as an athlete and competed in the middle distance races of track and field and achieved all american status in the ncaa. When seeking a more sustainable career, this penchant for physical punishment naturally led me to a field that constantly tests one’s mettle.

My first glimpse into surgery came as a participant in the DeBakey Summer Surgery program. as an undergraduate, i experienced the operating room. Dr. peter lin served as my mentor and guided me through this fascinating field. Dr. DeBakey explained how he fortuitously purchased Dacron at the local Sears and fashioned the first successful vascular grafts with his wife’s sewing machine. The pioneers at Baylor college of Medicine truly inspired me and influenced my decision to attend medical school at this institution.

My interest in cardiovascular surgery continued to grow as i went along in my training, first as a medical student and subsequently as a general surgery resident. countless leaders in the field serve as faculty at our institution and continue to innovate and teach. formative rotations and mentorship within vascular surgery ultimately influenced my decision to choose this specialty for fellowship. The foundation in general surgery that i have established at Baylor will no doubt serve me well as i continue my training next year at the Mayo clinic in rochester, Minnesota.

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featurIng plastIC surgeon shayan

Izaddoost, md, phdassistant professor of surgery and

molecular and Cellular Biology

as a medical student, graduate student, resident, and now faculty member at Baylor

college of Medicine, i have found passion in plastic surgery, my patients, and the education

of our residents. over the past twenty years, Baylor has fostered my enthusiasm for medicine

and allowed me to prosper in an environment of excellence and innovation. My wife Dr. celestine

Tung, a gynecologic oncologist, and i have devel-oped our careers and raised our own family alongside

others in the Baylor community.

i enjoy plastic surgery because every day we help people return to their normal lives functionally, physically, and mentally. for some of our patients, it is a vulnerable period and we are glad to prepare them for what is to come in their treatment process. i am honored to work with our outstanding and caring plastic surgery staff members, who work hard to make patients part of our extended family. Since the reconstructive or cosmetic process often undertakes a long period of time, we and our patients develop long term relationships that are truly rewarding to our staff, our patients, and me. 

one of the greatest parts of my work is educating residents and medical students.    My main focus is the training of our residents in both the

intellectual and technical part of plastic surgery.  i also give lectures to medical students in the foundations of Medicine course and direct the

Michael e. DeBakey Summer Surgery program for undergraduates.  i am inspired by students or residents that are thoughtful, hard-working, and

intellectually curious.  i hope that, in some way, i can help them achieve their goals and succeed in endeavors where i, or we as a specialty team, have had

little success.  in this way, i can continue to partake in Baylor’s greatest traditions, outstanding clinical care, research, and education.

James adam davis, md

shayan Izaddoost, md, phd

honors and awardsgeorge p. noon, mdRoy M. Huffington Award for ExcellenceBen & Margaret Love Foundation Bobby Alford Award for Academic Clinical Professionalism.nih heart, lung & Blood inst. r24 “pulmonary hypertension Breakthrough initiative”

sCott a. lemaIre, mdMichael E. DeBakey, MD Excellence in Research Awardfy15 cVri pilot award

faIsal g. Bakaeen, md; ouranIa preVentza, md2014 TSFRE Alley-Sheridan Scholarship

Carla C. Braxton, md2014 health policy Scholarship, american college of Surgeons

wIllIam Cohn, md2014 outstanding inventor of the year award, houston intellectual property law association$31,000 MacDonald grant for percutaneous mini-VaD

Bradford g. sCott, mdgraduate Medical education executive committee

mark mazzIottI, md; erIC sIlBerfeIn, md; shayan Izaddoost, md, phdFulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. Faculty Excellence Award

todd k. rosengart, md; steVen Curley, mdWilliam and ella owens Medical research foundation seed grant.

norman sussman, mdinaugural fellow, american association for the Study of liver Disease.

James sulIBurk, mdMoore foundation’s patient and family engagement early career investigator awardnih r21 grant to look at adipose tissue as a reservoir for hiV.

peter tsaI, mdBcM academy of Distinguished educators executive steering committeecardiovascular Medicine and Surgery network Steering committee of cheST, american college of chest physicians2014 TSFRE Alley-Sheridan Scholarship

ramar gIlanI, mdDoD grant “hemorrhage control for Major Traumatic Vascular injuries”

Joseph s. CosellI, md25th John W. kirklin Visiting professor in cardiac Surgery

mary Brandt, mdDistinguished honoree - hearts of gold gala: honoring

Women in health & Medical ScienceDonald liu Visiting professor at the university of chicago SoM

masahIro ono, md, phdBranislav Radovancevic Memorial Fellowship - ISHLT

aaron sCott, mdcpriT Training grant

VIVek sIngh, phdOutstanding New Investigator Award, AHA BCVS 2014 Scientific

Sessions - BcVS abstract Travel grant to attend the aha Scientific Sessions

JatIn anand, mdPaul C. Sampson Resident Prize, Western Thoracic Surgical Society

muhammad aftaB, mdResident Research Poster Award, adult cardiac Surgery Section, aaTS

American College of Cardiology for Fellow in training Surgeon Council Award

somala mohammed, mdRuth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (f32 grant)

sonIa orCutt, mdMcCollum Academic Achievement Award

darrell wu, mdC. Walton Lillehei Resident Award Finalist, aaTS

Irene t. ma, md2nd place, Commission on Cancer National Paper Competition

meredIth mason, mdresearch support for “Sustainment Virtual Tumor Board across the ViSn16”

JennIfer Carpenter, mdfall courses Travel award, the association for academic Surgery.

Jason ho, mdoncology T32 fellowship in the BcM oncology Scholars Training program.

sCott weldon, ma, CmITreasurer, Board of governors, association of Medical illustrators

graduatIon Ceremonymatthew J. wall Jr., md

DeBakey Distinguished Service awardchief resident award to a faculty Member

John goss, mdgeorge p. noon faculty professionalism award

erIC J. sIlBerfeIn, mdgene a. guinn faculty Teaching award

neal ryan Barshes, mdMedical Student award for Best Teaching faculty

harI r. mallIdI, mdThoracic Surgery resident award to a faculty Member

heCtor sauCedo Crespo, mdMedical Student award for Best Teaching resident

outstanding chief awardoutstanding Va chief resident award

yangyang yu, mdoutstanding intern award

nader zamanI, mdoutstanding Student in Surgery award

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new researCh InItIatIVessurgICal researCh Core teamSummary of the Core Team’s support, January-July, 2014

The research core Team is available to support the research efforts of all department faculty members and residents.

Since January 2014, the team has provided the following support:

n 93 faculty members from 9 of 10 divisions assistedn 121 grant accounts managedn $20 million in grants submitted with core assistancen 17 Database projects n 28 projects with statistical support from our analyst n 24 Manuscripts and 15 grants supported by our

editorn 11 figures/illustrations prepared

Pre-grant submission

The Surgical research core Team is here to help you secure

federal or other type of funding for your research projects.  Malesa

Jackson (mjackson@bcm.edu) and Jon Meyers (Jon.meyers@bcm.edu)

are our pre-award specialists. if you can work with us a few steps ahead

of deadlines, we will help you complete all the requirements for submitting

your application. We can help you plan the budget, perform study design and

statistical analyses, prepare the figures, edit your writing, assemble the grant’s package,

and review your proposal before the study section sees it. 

if you have any questions, email Dr. Trautner (trautner@bcm.edu). contacting us months

ahead of a deadline enables us to provide maximum support for your proposal, including

securing peer review.

iPREP

one way to improve the quality and chances of approval of grant proposals is to submit them to internal

peer review before they are submitted to the funding agency. The research core Team has implemented the

internal peer review evaluation of proposals (iprep) for this purpose.

The first iprep meeting took place on June 30th and provided feedback on an r21 and an r01 application. please,

contact Dr. Trautner to present your proposal through the iprep process.

Manuscript, Grant, and Presentation Support

The core provides support for preparing manuscripts, book chapters, abstracts, and presentations. please contact ana

rodríguez (ana.rodriguez@bcm.edu) for medical editing, courtney nalty (courtney.nalty@bcm.edu) for statistical support, and Scott

holmes (scotth@bcm.edu) for help with figures. priority is given to funding applications and also to faculty members who submit funding

applications through the research core.

Clinical Trials

our core team can help you implement your clinical research from start to finish. our team will help you with irB proposal preparation and submission,

regulatory issues, and the actual patient enrollment and monitoring. our research coordinators are already credentialed at St. luke’s, Ben Taub, and

the Va hospital. These team members include emily Boeckman, adrienne chee, laurie fondren, Deborah horwitz (pa), Tunu Magwe, and Betty Walker

(rn). We also have a database expert, hoa Quach, in the research core team.

The research core Team is looking forward to working with you!

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Barbara trautner, md, phd

2013 201430

25

20

15

10

5

0

25

20

15

10

5

0

180160140120100806040200

2013 2014

20

5

funding requests assisted

Databaseprojects

Statisticalanalysis

Manuscriptsedited

grantsedited

figures/illustrations

research core activities

Million $

faculty

2013 2014

Core usage by faculty

Totalfaculty

assistedby core

93

56

In all categories, at the midyear we are over our prior year’s totals. so, if you have not yet used the core services, what are you waiting for?

Surgery News is a publication of The michael e. DeBakeyDepartment of Surgery at Baylor College of medicine.

To be added to the newsletter e-mail database please write to:

Scott holmes, cMione Baylor plaza, MS: BcM390, houston, Texas 77030

or e-mail: surgerynews@bcm.edu

editor-in-Chief: Todd k. rosengart, MDeditors: allen l. Milewicz, MD, Scott c. holmes, cMi,

ana María rodríguez, phD

© 2014 Baylor college of Medicine

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new researCh InItIatIVesresIdent researCh Career deVelopment program and sCholar program

Message from the Vice Chair for Research, Dr. Scott A. LeMaire The mission of our research education program is to train future leaders in academic surgery. We are committed to teaching our residents how to conduct research in surgical disease by providing them with the skills they will need to advance the field and ultimately improve treatment and quality of life for affected patients. To achieve this goal, our program provides opportunities for residents to conduct research under the mentorship of accomplished surgeon-scientists.

Two Options for Residency Candidates: the Traditional Track and the Research Trackour general surgery program offers two distinct tracks, each of which has a separate specific match. The first option is our traditional track; candidates who match to this track spend five consecutive years receiving clinical training. The second option is our research track; candidates who match to this seven-year track complete a two-year research fellowship, which

takes place between their second and third clinical years. residents in the research Track can qualify for resident research Career development program.

Resident Research Career Development ProgramThe unique resident research career Development program is designed to launch the careers of residents who are committed to surgical research. The program provides structured support during residency and guaranteed faculty positions within our department. residents in the research Track can qualify for this program by achieving key milestones during their training, including successfully obtaining a postdoctoral fellowship award and developing a competitive career development award proposal. upon completion of the seven-year residency, qualifying residents enter our department’s faculty scholar program, in which they will continue to receive structured support as they progress toward becoming independent investigators with major extramural funding.

if you have any questions about our research programs or any of the related opportunities we provide to our residents, please feel free to contact me directly at slemaire@bcm.edu.

scott a. lemaire, md