News

The Department of Surgery held its 4th Annual Research Day April 17. The department holds this event annually to advance its mission of improving patient care through research and training the next generation of surgeon–scientists. The event recognizes the accomplishments of fellows, residents, and students engaged in clinical or basic and translational research through the department.

Three faculty members from the Duke Department of Surgery have received distinguished professorships from Duke University. Distinguished professorships are awarded to the most distinguished faculty who have demonstrated extraordinary scholarship in advancing science and improving human health.

Congratulations to Julie Thacker, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery in the Division of Surgical Oncology, Betty Tong, MD, MS, MHS, Associate Professor of Surgery in the Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, and John Wiener, MD, Professor of Surgery in the Division of Urology, on their election to serve on Duke University’s Academic Council.

Congratulations to Christopher Mantyh, MD, Professor of Surgery in the Division of Surgical Oncology, on joining the editorial board for the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery.

Dr. Mantyh serves as Chief of the Section of Gastrointestinal and Colorectal Surgery. His term as an Editorial Board member with the journal will begin on May 19, 2019.

The U.S. News and World Report has ranked the Duke University School of Medicine 2nd in surgery among the best medical schools in the country. This 2nd place ranking is up considerably from the department’s 5th place ranking last year.

Studies fail to show early benefit, but changing landscape may increase utility of cross-sectional imaging
 

PET-CT for the initial staging of patients with stage 2 melanoma rarely showed evidence of distant metastatic disease, according to results presented in a poster session on October 11, 2018, at the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery annual meeting in Phoenix, AZ.

The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research has released its 2018 rankings of NIH funding for basic and clinical science departments, revealing that Duke Surgery ranks highest nationwide with more than $30 million in funding committed to research.

Congratulations to George Kasotakis, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Trauma and Critical Care Surgery, who received a 3-year scholarship to attend the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST) Leadership Development Workshop held during the annual Scientific Assembly. Dr. Kasotakis attended the first session in January 2019 in Austin, Texas.  

Please join the department in congratulating Laura Horst Rosenberger, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Surgical Oncology, whose abstract has been accepted by the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) for presentation at the 72nd Annual Cancer Symposium.

Dr. Rosenberger will present her abstract, “Axillary Lymph Node Dissection in Node-Positive Breast Cancer: Are 10-Nodes Adequate and When is Enough, Enough?” during the Breast Parallel Session of the symposium. Abstracts were reviewed and accepted by a blind peer-review program committee.  

Separate awards will advance genomic medicine and breast cancer research
 

In separate awards from the National Institutes of Health, Duke University School of Medicine researchers will advance genomic medicine initiatives and develop a model for how breast cancer tumors begin and grow.

The genome studies include two grants from the National Human Genome Research Institute, which is part of NIH, that will total about $9 million over five years.