Volume 14 | July 2, 2018
Surgical Notes
From the Chair
Colleagues,

It's hard to believe this year is already half over. We've accomplished a lot as a Department in the last 6 months as you can see in this newsletter alone.

I look forward to seeing what the rest of the year has in store.

Have a safe and wonderful Fourth of July.

Best,
Vigneshwar Kasirajan, MD
Promotion & Tenure Updates
Congratulations to the following Department of Surgery faculty for their recent promotion and/or tenure!
Chandra Bhati, MD
Associate Professor
Division of Transplant Surgery
C. D. Anthony Herndon, MD
Professor with Tenure
Division of Urology
Andrea Pozez, MD
Professor with Tenure
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
Rachit Shah, MD
Associate Professor
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Paula Ferrada, MD
Professor
Acute Care Surgical Services
Martin Mangino, PhD
Professor with Tenure
ORBIT
Levi Procter, MD
Associate Professor
Acute Care Surgical Services
James Whelan, MD
Professor
Acute Care Surgical Services
2018 MCVP Board Election
Congratulations are due to Dr. Paula Ferrada , Professor with the Division of Acute Care Surgical Services, for her election to the MCV Physicians Board of Directors.

Elected by her peers, Dr. Ferrada will join newly elected members Drs. Gonzalo Bearman and Charles Clevenger as the Board aims to further direct and support our MCV Physician's efforts in providing top-notch care.

Dr. Ferrada will serve a term of 3 years.

Congratulations, Dr. Ferrada!
2018 American Transplant Congress
Department of Surgery Residents Jeffrey Stern and Daniel Galvez Lima recently presented at the 2018 American Transplant Congress in Seattle, Washington.

The title of Stern's poster presentation was, "A Pre-transplant Blood-based Lipid Signature for Prediction of Antibody-mediated Rejection in Kidney Transplant Patients."

Galvez Lima's oral presentation was, "Diagnostic Accuracy of Non-Invasive Tests of Hepatic Fibrosis in Liver Transplant Recipients."
15th Annual Resident/Fellow Research Day
On Thursday June 7, 2018, residents and fellows across the health system presented their research as part of the 15th annual VCU Health Resident/Fellow Research Day.

Several of our own were among this year's winners.

General Surgery Research Residents, Drs. Kristine Kenning and Nina Wickramaratne won first and second place, respectively, for their oral presentatons in the basic science category. Dr. Kenning's presentation was titled, "Decreasing Ischemic Injury in Donation after Circulatory Death Heart with Inflammasome Blocker." Dr. Wickramaratne presented, "Acute Resuscitation with Polyethylene Glycol-20k: A Thromboelastographic Analysis."

Additionally, Urology Resident Andrea Balthazar, MD won first place for her poster presentation titled, "Development of a Non-Invasive External Compression Protocol to Quantify Dynamic Elasticity in an Isolated Working Pig Bladder."

Pictured Right: Dr. Balthazar along with fellow Urology resident Uzoma Anele, MD.
SSAT in Washington, D.C.
On Tuesday June 5th during the annual meeting of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT) at Digestive Disease Week in Washington DC, Dr. Guilherme Campos , Professor and Division Chair for Bariatric and Gastrointestinal Surgery at VCU, along with Dr. Thomas Watson from Medstar Health attended the second Lobby Day as Virginia and the SSAT Public Policy and Advocacy Committee representatives.

Drs. Campos and Watson met Health Policy Advisors from the offices of Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, and House Representatives Donald McEachin, Barbara Comstock and Dave Brat to discuss health care policy issues and concerns.

Topics included the opioid epidemic, cancer research and prevention appropriations requests and EHR documentation guidelines
VCU Health Dogs on Call
Department of Surgery residents were treated to an extra-special surprise one Thursday evening when a curly-haired, brown-eyed beauty wandered into their conference room.

As part of the VCU Health Dogs on Call program and the Department of Surgery's wellness initiatives, goldendoodle Callie, pictured right, visited the residents after a long day of training where she performed her favorite tricks and soaked up all the belly rubs she could.

If you're interested in having the Dogs on Call visit your team, reach out to Volunteer Services at 828-0922 (Surgery personnel, call Jessica Carey at 828-9662).

Because let's be honest. Who doesn't love a good belly rub?
2018 Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund Award
Governor Ralph Northam recently announced the FY2018 winners of the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund awards. Dr. Sudha Jayaraman , Associate Professor with the Division of Acute Care Surgical Services, along with collaborator Dayanjan Wijesinghe, PhD were awarded $100,000 under the Matching Funds Program for their mass spectrometry reconciliation project.

In the release, Governor Northam was quoted, "The Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund accelerates technological innovation and economic growth in Virginia by identifying potential solutions to important state and national problems... I commend these recipients and look forward to seeing their projects come to fruition."

To read more, click here.
NIH/National Medical Association Travel Award
Randy Vince , MD, Division of Urology Chief Resident, has won the NIH/National Medical Association Travel Award .

These awards are for senior residents as well as fellows and junior faculty who have an interest in pursuing careers in academic medicine.

As part of the award, Dr. Vince will be attending the 116th Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly in Orlando this August.
An International Outlook
Dr. Lance Hampton , Barbara and William B. Thalhimer, Jr. Professor and Division Chair for Urology recently penned a 4-page essay in the latest edition of Impact about his experience in Vietnam as part of the IVUMed Traveling Resident Scholars Program , for which he has served as a volunteer mentor since 2009.

Dr. Hampton writes, "These trips have enhanced my surgical practice in many ways and have helped me to educate future urologists and help the patients of central Virginia as well."

To read his story, click here .
Urology Match 2019
Congratulations to two of our Urology residents who recently learned of their matches for upcoming fellowships to begin in July 2019.
Andrew Tracey, MD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Randy Vince, MD
University of Michigan
One Year Later: Colon and Rectal Surgery
One year ago this month, Colon and Rectal Surgery, a subset of Bariatric and GI, broke off and became its own group. In that time, the group - now its own fully recognized division - has had many successes. Led by Associate Professor and Division Chair Dr. Jaime Bohl , Colon and Rectal has recruited a third faculty member (fourth provider), Dr. Nikki Wieghard, who will start in September. The Division has developed and started participating in multiple programs to include High Risk Anal Cancer Screening, the Crohn's Colitis Center for Combined Research, and several others. Services have also expanded outside of our core campus to reach both Temple and Mayland office locations, providing access to even more patients across the metro area.

To celebrate, the team - pictured above - along with senior leadership, knocked back a few IPAs at Veil Brewing . Well done, team!
Career Day at Maybeury Elementary
Dr. Amelia Grover , Associate Professor with the Division of Surgical Oncology recently presented to a group of third graders at Maybeury Elementary School at their annual Career Day event.

Armed with the box trainer, masks, hats, and our anatomy doll, the students were able to practice laparoscopic surgery techniques right there in the classroom under Dr. Grover's instruction and guidance.

As this academic year comes to an end for all surrounding counties, it is fun to think about how these little boys and girls could be the next generation of surgical residents and faculty here at VCU Health.

Interested in having one of our residents or surgeons come talk to your class? Give Jessica Carey a call at (804)828-9662.
Humera 2019 Dues & Updates
Surgery Staff Feature
This month's featured staff member needs no introduction because there likely isn't a single person across the Department of Surgery who hasn't at some point interacted with him. But with that, meet Tyler Mangino, IT guru and computer-fixer extraordinaire!

With a BS in Information Technology, Tyler has been with the Department of Surgery for just over 8 years where he supports all information technology efforts for both Hospital and VCU systems across the Department. When asked about the most exciting part of his role, he stated, "If I can't fix your issue in 10 minutes, then I get excited about the task. I have to remind myself that you need to get back to your work and that I can't just sit around all day playing around with understanding your computer problem."

When not solving the IT crises of the world - or Department - Tyler can be found playing online video games with friends and caring for his two cats, Pickles and Petals.

And the big question - Mac or PC? PC. Which he custom builds every few years. Genius!
Monthly Wellness Note
athletic_running_shoes.jpg
As the weather gets warmer and the days longer, it's a great time to get outside.

Did you know that VCU has put together walking routes for employees, each with varying distances and sites to see?

Check out this page (scroll to the middle) which has detailed directions for both the MCV and Monroe Park campus routes.

Take a break, get some Vitamin D and see the many city landmarks all at the same time!
Upcoming Events
little_girl_yoga.jpg
Save the Date: Upcoming DOS Fitness Classes

Thursday July 19, 2018
12:00 - 12:45
Pilates
Main 1-422

Thursday August 16, 2018
4:00 - 4:45
Cardio
Main 4-122

Official Invitations Forthcoming
Isaac A. Bigger Banquet & Graduation
Saturday June 23, 2018
6:00 - 10:00 PM
Jefferson Lakeside Country Club

RSVP by Wednesday June 13, 2018.

Questions? Contact Cindi Phares at cindi.phares@vcuhealth.org .
Research Open Forum
Monthly, 2nd Mondays
4:00 - 5:00 PM
West 16 Conference Room (16-103)

All are welcome to attend!
talent_business.jpg
VCUHS Learning & Development
Click here to view available Learning Events through the Office of Training & Development for the month of February.

For more information or to register, visit the Learning Exchange or email educationmatters@vcuhealth.org
enter-key-keyboard.jpg
Have a story to tell? Contact jessica.carey@vcuhealth.org
Department of Surgery | Virginia Commonwealth University | (804)828-7874 | surgweb@vcu.edu