Dr. Jeff Kerby Is New ACS Medical Director, Trauma Education

Jeffrey D. Kerby, MD, PhD, FACS, from Birmingham, Alabama, is the new ACS Medical Director, Trauma Education. He begins this part-time executive leadership position on March 16, when his 4-year term ends as Chair of the ACS Committee on Trauma.

A globally esteemed trauma surgeon, researcher, and US Air Force veteran, Dr. Kerby will help shape domestic and international trauma care by providing strategic, clinical, and scientific guidance for key ACS trauma education initiatives.

“The ACS is very fortunate to have such an esteemed leader, educator, visionary, and clinician join our leadership team in this new capacity. I look forward to his continued guidance and contributions to our organization and the care of surgical patients worldwide,” said Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS, ACS Executive Director & CEO.

After earning his medical degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, Dr. Kerby completed his general surgery residency, research fellowship, and PhD in biochemistry and molecular genetics at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Upon completion of his training in 1999, Dr. Kerby served as an active-duty Air Force surgeon for 4 years, returning to UAB in 2003 as a member of the surgical faculty.

An ACS Fellow since 2001, Dr. Kerby currently is a professor of surgery and director of the UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery in the Department of Surgery at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine (UABSOM). He holds the Brigham Family Endowed Chair in Trauma Surgery at UAB and has been recognized as a Distinguished Professor in the UABSOM. Dr. Kerby also currently serves as the State Trauma Consultant for the Office of Emergency Medical Services in the Alabama Department of Public Health.

For nearly 20 years, Dr. Kerby conducted National Institutes of Health-funded research evaluating resuscitation strategies and devices in both out of hospital cardiac arrest and severe traumatic injury.

This research has included large-scale randomized trials evaluating hypertonic saline for shock and traumatic brain injury, balanced blood product transfusion for hemorrhagic shock, and pilot studies evaluating a limited resuscitation strategy for hemorrhagic shock. He also is actively involved in multidisciplinary outcomes research through the UAB Center for Injury Sciences.

A much sought-after speaker, mentor, and advisor, Dr. Kerby is a prolific author and serves on editorial boards and/or as a reviewer for numerous scientific journals, including the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, JAMA Surgery, and Journal of the American College of Surgeons.