The Duke Department of Surgery is pleased to announce the appointment of Jacob Greenberg, MD, EdM, to the role of Division Chief of the newly formed Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS).
Dr. Greenberg joined Duke in 2022, originally as a faculty member in the Section of General and Minimally Invasive Surgery in the Division of Surgical Oncology. The Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery is composed of all faculty of the former Division of Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery, along with faculty from the Divisions of Surgical Oncology, and Trauma, Acute, and Critical Care Surgery. Alongside these esteemed members, Dr. Greenberg will play a vital role in the formation of the new MIS division.
Dr. Greenberg will also serve as director of the new hernia center currently under development in the Department of Surgery. This multi-disciplinary center will draw expertise from divisions across Duke Surgery as well as other departments and programs. The center plans to provide high-quality care to patients with abdominal wall defects, and will participate in clinical trials related to hernia repair.
"Dr. Greenberg has a perfect complement of surgical skill, innovative spirit, educational demeanor, and leadership to bring this group of surgical experts together for the benefit of patients at Duke and beyond.”
- Dr. Allan D. Kirk, Chair of the Department of Surgery
Dr. Greenberg’s research interests include surgical outcomes in abdominal wall reconstruction, competency-based assessment of surgical performances in trainees, curriculum development and assessment in surgical education, and surgical coaching for performance improvement. He has published an impressive number of manuscripts on these topics and many others, and has served on the editorial boards of both the Journal of Surgical Research and the Journal of Laparoscopic and Advanced Surgical Techniques.
Dr. Greenberg joined Duke from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University (AU), where he served as the Leon Henri Charbonnier Endowed Chair of Surgical Education and the Assistant Dean of Operative Skills Assessment. At AU, he held academic positions in both the Departments of Surgery and Neurosurgery.
“I’m thrilled that we were able to attract Dr. Greenberg to Duke and I am confident that he will provide stellar leadership for this exciting new division,” says Duke Surgery Department Chair Allan D. Kirk, MD, PhD. “Surgical technique is rapidly advancing, and increasingly surgeons are interfacing with robotics, artificial intelligence algorithms, new optical models, and other complex means of minimizing the trauma to the patient. This focus on technical advancement—in practice, discovery, innovation, and education—warrants a divisional structure that facilitates the many surgeons at Duke with nation leading expertise in these technical advances. Dr. Greenberg has a perfect complement of surgical skill, innovative spirit, educational demeanor, and leadership to bring this group of surgical experts together for the benefit of patients at Duke and beyond.”
Prior to his tenure at AU, Dr. Greenberg was an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Wisconsin (UW), where he served as Program Director of both the UW Advanced Gastrointestinal and Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship and the UW General Surgery Residency for four years, after serving as Associate Program Director for five years.
“It has been an absolute joy to join the faculty at Duke, and I couldn't envision an easier transition to a new institution,” says Dr. Greenberg. “The Department of Surgery has such a rich history of clinical excellence, outstanding training programs, and innovation across all spectrums of surgical science. The faculty, residents, and fellows at Duke are outstanding surgeons and I feel very fortunate to now be a part of the Department. I am truly honored to have the opportunity to lead the Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery and look forward to working with everyone for years to come.“
At Duke, Dr. Greenberg will also provide training in the Community General Surgery residency program. The program will fill the need for rural and community surgical care throughout the state of North Carolina. The residency will be the first competency based, time-variable general surgery training program in the United States.
"The faculty, residents, and fellows at Duke are outstanding surgeons and I feel very fortunate to now be a part of the Department. I am truly honored to have the opportunity to lead the Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery and look forward to working with everyone for years to come.“
- Dr. Jacob Greenberg
Dr. Greenberg has received a number of accolades in his previous positions, most recently including the Chief Resident Faculty Teaching Award, the Patient and Family Experience Provider Champion Award, and the Layton F. Rikkers Faculty Educator Award for Medical Student Education.
“The Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery is poised to be the premier MIS program in the country,” says Dr. Greenberg. “We have a talented group of faculty members, great clinical volume, one of the largest and most well-respected fellowship programs in the country, and outstanding opportunities for research in surgical data science, education, outcomes, and the basic sciences. As we come together to create this new division, I am supremely confident that we will thrive across all of the missions of the Duke Department of Surgery.”
Dr. Greenberg will begin his appointment as division chief on December 1, 2022. Please join us in welcoming him to this new role, in which we know he will be a great success.