Icons in Surgery

Nancy L. Ascher, MD, PhD, FACS
Presented by Hillary J. Braun, MD and Peter G. Stock, MD, FACS

Dr. Nancy L. Ascher was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She attended the University of Michigan for undergraduate and medical school before completing her surgical training in general surgery and transplantation at the University of Minnesota, where she was the first woman to perform a liver transplant. She created the liver transplant program at Minnesota before moving to California in 1988 to start the liver transplant program at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She has held numerous leadership positions throughout her career including president of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and president of The Transplantation Society. She was also chair of the department of surgery at UCSF for 17 years. Throughout the arc of her career, she has made liver transplant into a clinical reality and helped lead the use of living donor liver transplant in the United States. She has cared for thousands of transplant patients and mentored hundreds of students, residents, and fellows who consider her to be the single most important influence in their professional careers.
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Edward Barksdale Jr., MD, FACS
Presented by Henri Ford, MD, MHA, FACS, MAMSE, FRCSEng (HON), FAAP

Edward M. Barksdale, Jr., MD, is professor of surgery & pediatrics at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, and chief surgical officer of the Chicagoland Children’s Health Alliance. An honors graduate and All-American fencer at Yale, he earned his MD from Harvard Medical school. He trained in general surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and served as chief of the West Surgery Service, the first African American to hold this distinction along with Dr. Lynt Johnson. After completing a fellowship in pediatric surgery in Cincinnati, he joined the faculty at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and the U. of Pittsburgh. He became professor of surgery prior to becoming surgeon-in-chief at Rainbow Babies. He has served as president of the American Pediatric Surgical Association and the Society of Black Academic Surgeons (SBAS). Currently, he is 2nd Vice President of the American College of Surgeons.  A recognized educator and mentor, he founded the SBAS Leadership Academy and is a member of the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators. His work focuses on empowering “the least, the lost, and the left behind.”
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Jon A. van Heerden, MBCHB, FRCS(C), FACS, FRCS(Edin)(Hon)
Presented by David R. Farley, MD, FACS and Nancy D. Perrier, MD, FACS

Dr. Jon van Heerden is a native of South Africa and joined the Mayo Clinic general surgery training program in Rochester, MN in 1965. Jon was hired on staff at Mayo in 1972 and enjoyed more than 31 years of a surgical career that included some 28,000 operations, publishing 500+ surgical articles, and training hundreds of residents and students. He was named the Fred C. Andersen Professor of Surgery at Mayo and enjoyed national and international recognition giving hundreds of presentations along the way to becoming president of numerous surgical societies (Western, AAES, IAES) and creating dozens of endocrine surgery courses worldwide. In retirement from clinical practice, Dr. van Heerden has continued for 20+ years to commit his time and talents to surgical education at the Medical University of South Carolina.
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Frank J. Veith, MD, FACS
Presented by Anton Sidawy, MD, FACS

Dr. Veith graduated from Cornell with honors and completed his residency at the Peter Bent Brigham hospital of Harvard University. In the 1970s and 1980s, he performed pioneering work in lung transplantation. His clinical interest involved vascular surgery focusing on limb revascularizations. Dr. Veith was the first to advocate an aggressive approach to saving threatened limbs when most patients with this problem underwent amputation. In the late 1980s, Dr. Veith became involved with endovascular treatments. His group performed the first US endovascular aneurysm repair or EVAR. They were also the first to treat ruptured AAAs by EVAR. Dr. Veith has been a leader in every national and international vascular society.   He has been a leading advocate for the recognition of vascular surgery as a separate, distinct specialty. Dr. Veith has received numerous honors as a leader and innovator. He is now professor of surgery at NYU and the Cleveland Clinic where he is the Liebig Chair in Vascular Surgery. Dr. Veith leads the largest vascular surgery meeting held annually in New York City. In 2010, he received the Society for Vascular Surgery Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2013 an endowed Veith Chair was established in his honor at NYU. In 2018 The Frank J. Veith International Society was established by his trainees, colleagues, and friends to honor his achievements in vascular surgery. In 2022 the SVS established the Frank J Veith Lectureship on limb salvage to begin annually at their Vascular Annual Meeting in June 2023.
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Edward E. Cornwell III, MD, FACS
Presented by Mallory Williams, MD, FACS and Tolulope Oyetunji, MD, MPH, MBA

Dr. Edward E. Cornwell III is a native of Washington DC and is currently the LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr. Professor of Surgery at Howard University College of Medicine and former Chair of the Department of Surgery (serving for 13 years in that position) and Interim Dean. He is the Vice President of the American Surgical Association and has previously served as President of the Southeastern Surgical Congress, Society of Black Academic Surgeons, and Surgical Section of the National Medical Association. He is also a former Secretary of the American College of Surgeons and Scudder Orator.
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H. Leon Pachter, MD, FACS
Presented by L.D. Britt, MD, MPH, DSc(Hon), FACS, FCCM, FRCSEng(Hon), MAMSE and John K. Saunders, MD, FACS

H. Leon Pachter, MD, FACS is the George David Stewart Professor of Surgery and Chair Emeritus of the Department of Surgery at NYU Langone Heath. While Dr. Pachter was the director of the Trauma and Shock Unit at Bellevue Hospital, his innovative methods changed the surgical world’s thinking to the approach and management of severe injuries to the liver and the spleen. He has perfected a number of life-saving techniques over the years, among them a method of salvaging severely damaged livers and spleens that drastically reduced the mortality rate for such injuries. Of his multiple notable achievements, the one he is most proud of is being elected as an honorary member to “The Society for Black Academic Surgeons,” in recognition of his efforts in the area of diversity. Dr. Pachter still maintains an active surgical practice, with a special interest in minimally invasive surgery, particularly of the adrenal glands.
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Valerie W. Rusch, MD, FACS
Presented by Yolonda Colson, MD, PhD, FACS

Dr. Valerie Rusch, vice chair of clinical research and the Miner Family Chair in Intrathoracic Cancers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, is a highly respected surgeon and pioneer in the field of thoracic surgery.  She has been a key leader in advances in multimodality treatment of lung cancer, including mesothelioma, with a particular impact in establishing the critically important role of surgery, and the value of the surgeon voice in clinical trial design, enrollment and maximizing patient outcomes. One of the first women in the United States to be board certified in cardiothoracic surgery, she has been a pioneer in nearly every facet of her career. She was an early member of the Southwest Oncology Group, the Lung Cancer Surgery Group, and the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group with participation in the creation and design of iconic clinical trials which have helped define modern management of thoracic malignancies.  She has also established an amazing legacy with outstanding service as chief of the thoracic service at Memorial Sloan Kettering, council member for the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, chair of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, Chair of the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons, and ultimately the 100th President of the American College of Surgeons—all landmark roles which have defined leadership in our field.
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John L. Tarpley, MD, FACS
Presented by Fiemu Nwariaku, MBBS, FACS and Michael G. Sarr, MD, FACS

Dr. John ("Tarp") Tarpley has been a world-recognized educator in global surgery as well as one of the top recognized program directors in general surgery training programs here in the United States. He is truly an innovator, educator, inspirational bellwether, and a wonderful Icon in Surgery of the United States. Dr. Tarpley's incredible educational skills have allowed him to train numerous surgeons both nationally and internationally. Tarp not only talks the talk but has walked the walk with his 15 years as a medical missionary in Nigeria and three yeas “after retirement” running the University of Botswana department of surgery.
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L.D. Britt, MD, MPH, DSc(Hon), FACS, FCCM, FRCSEng(Hon), MAMSE
Presented by Edward E. Cornwell III, MD, FACS

With humble beginnings in the segregated South, Dr.  L.D. Britt has built a career in academic surgery that is as impactful and decorated as there is in the US.  Educated at America's finest institutions and trained by true surgical giants; he has become one of Virginia's most celebrated native sons, and a recipient of an unmatched number of national citations and honors for his accomplishments in surgical care, teaching and training, pioneering in Acute Care Surgery, and his incredible leadership role through the presidency of 9 major surgical societies. This astounding record depicts the true definition of an "Icon in Surgery."
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David B. Hoyt, MD, FACS, MAMSE
Presented by Tyler G. Hughes, MD, FACS

Dr. David B. Hoyt, Trauma Surgeon, Educator, Researcher and former Executive Director of the American College of Surgeons was a product of his times. From birth in Akron, Ohio to Woodstock to the COVID crisis, Dr. Hoyt is an integral part of the surgical profession stressing quality, honor and trust.
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Heidi Nelson, MD, FACS
Presented by Eric J. Dozois, MD, FACS

Dr. Heidi Nelson left her roots on the west coast to work at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. As a gifted surgeon, a career scientist, educator, innovator and leader, Dr. Nelson has touched the lives of thousands of patients. Through her many leadership roles at the Mayo Clinic, the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons, she has helped to steer the future of American Surgery in a positive direction.   
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Jeffrey L. Ponsky, MD, FACS
Presented by Frederick J. Brody, MD, FACS

Over the last five decades, Dr. Jeff Ponsky has been an innovator and educator in minimally invasive surgery and endoscopy. Dr. Ponsky’s contributions to the field of surgery and training will continue to impact patient care for decades.
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Sir Murray F. Brennan, GNZM, MD, FACS
Presented by Daniel G. Coit, MD, FACS

Murray F. Brennan, GNZM, MD, FACS, is a world-renowned expert in tumor biology and evaluation of the proper role of surgery and other therapies in caring for patients with cancer and a Knight Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. In 2020, Dr. Brennan gave the Commission on Cancer Oncology Lecture: Medicine Meet Math.

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Alexa I. Canady, MD, FACS
Presented by Renée Reynolds, MD, FAANS

Alexa I. Canady, MD, FACS, is the first board-certified African American woman neurosurgeon in the US and she had a distinguished career including serving as chief of neurosurgery from 1987 to 2001 at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan. In 2016, she gave the Olga Jonasson Lecture at Clinical Congress on "The Journey: Becoming a Neurosurgeon and Back Again."

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Alden H. Harken, MD, FACS
Presented by Lewis Wetstein, MD, FACS

Alden H. Harken, MD, FACS, is a key contributor to the field of cardiac electrophysiology, which advanced the understanding of the pathophysiology of ventricular tachycardia. Harken devised and performed the first successful treatment of “Sudden Cardiac Death”  by mapping and surgically excising the intracardiac source of ventricular tachyarrhythmias.

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Steven A. Rosenberg, MD
Presented by Peter A. Prieto, MD, MPH, FACS

Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, a pioneer in the development of oncologic immunotherapy and gene therapy for patients with advanced cancer, chief of the Surgery Branch at the National Cancer Institute, and 2018 recipient of the ACS Jacobson Innovation Award.

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Patricia K. Donahoe, MD, FACS, presented by Allan M. Goldstein, MD, FACS

Thomas J. Fogarty, MD, FACS, presented by Thomas M. Krummel, MD, FACS

LaSalle D. Leffall Jr., MD, FACS, presented by Edward E. Cornwell III, MD, FACS, FCCM, FWACS(Hon)

Carlos A. Pellegrini, MD, FACS, FRCSI(Hon), FRCS(Hon), FRCSEd(Hon), presented by Brant K. Oelschlager, MD, FACS

John L. Cameron, MD, FACS, FRCSEng(Hon), FRCSEd(Hon), FRCSI(Hon), presented by Keith D. Lillemoe, MD, FACS

Kenneth A. Forde, MD, FACS, FASCRS, FACG, FCCS(Hon), presented by Dennis L. Fowler, MD, FACS

Anna M. Ledgerwood, MD, FACS and, Charles E. Lucas, MD, FACS , presented by Lawrence N. Diebel, MD, FACS

Donald D. Trunkey, MD, FACS, presented by Richard J. Mullins, MD, FACS

Patricia J. Numann, MD, FACS, presented by Sharon L. Stein, MD, FACS, FASCRS

Basil A. Pruitt, Jr., MD, FACS, FCCM, MCCM, presented by James A. O'Neill, MD FACS

Norman N. Rich, MD, FACS, DMCC, presented by Eric A. Elster, MD, FACS

Seymour I. Schwartz, MD, FACS, presented by Jacob Moalem, MD, FACS

Kathryn Anderson, MD, FACS, presented by Philip Conte Guzzetta, MD, FACS

Orlo H. Clark, MD, FACS, presented by Wen T. Shen, MD, FACS

W. Hardy Hendren, III, MD, FACS, presented by Don K. Nakayama, MD, FACS

Walter Pories, MD, FACS, presented by Emmanuel E. Zervos, MD, FACS

Alfred Blalock, MD, FACS, presented by Luca A. Vricella, MD, FACS

Claude H. Organ, Jr., MD, FACS, presented by Gregory M. Organ

Thomas E. Starzl, MD, FACS, presented by Clyde F. Barker, MD, FACS

George Berci, MD, FACS, presented by L. Michael Brunt, MD, FACS

Denton Cooley, MD, FACS, presented by Michael J. Reardon, MD, FACS

Stanley Dudrick, MD, FACS, presented by Pascal R. Fuchshuber, MD, PhD, FACS

Olga Jonasson, MD, FACS, presented by Emina H. Wang, MD, FACS