J. Wayne Meredith, MD, FACS, MCCM, the Richard T. Myers Professor and Chairman, department of surgery, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, will be installed as the 2020–2021 President of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) as part of the Convocation Sunday, October 4. The First Vice-President H. Randolph Bailey, MD, FACS, FASCRS, and Second Vice-President, Lisa A. Newman, MD, MPH, FACS, FASCO, also will be installed.
An esteemed trauma, thoracic, and critical care surgeon, Dr. Meredith is the chair of surgery at Wake Forest School of Medicine. Dr. Meredith joined the faculty of Wake Forest University Health Sciences in 1987. In his years of service at Wake Forest School of Medicine, Dr. Meredith has taken on many roles. He was director of surgical sciences through June 2014 and appointed surgeon-in-chief of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in July 2019. In addition, he is the residency program director, department of surgery, Wake Forest School of Medicine, and medical director, The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma. Dr. Meredith holds a cross-appointment at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, as well as a joint appointment as professor of pediatrics in the department of pediatrics. He is a member of Wake Forest’s graduate medical education committee (1999–present), the risk and insurance management advisory council (2002–present), the faculty executive council (2002–present), the cancer center oversight committee (2004 –present), the medical executive committee (2011–present), and the health system management council (2011–present). He served on the boards of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
A Fellow of the College since 1990, Dr. Meredith has devoted much of his energy to ACS Trauma Programs. He served as the Medical Director of Trauma Programs (2006–2010) and Chair of the Committee on Trauma (COT) (2002–2006). He has chaired the COT’s National Trauma Data Bank Ad Hoc Committee (1997–2002) and the Trauma Registry Subcommittee (1994–2002) and continues to serve on the Verification, Review, and Consultation Committee (1996–present).
In addition, he has been a liaison member of the Program Committee (2002–2006), a member of the national faculty for the Advanced Trauma Life Support® course (2002–present), and the ACS COT representative to the American Board of Surgery (ABS) Trauma, Burns, and Critical Care Advisory Council (2005–2006).Dr. Meredith has been an ACS Governor-at-Large since 2017 and serves on the Board of Governors Surgical Training Workgroup. He previously served on the Health Policy Advisory Council (2018). Furthermore, Dr. Meredith has played a significant role in state-level ACS activities since joining the North Carolina Chapter of the ACS in 1991. He has served as a member of the chapter’s Board of Directors (1994–present), a member (1991–present), and Chair (1991–1997) of the North Carolina COT, and North Carolina Chapter President (2005).The College honored Dr. Meredith for his contributions to the ACS with the 2014 Distinguished Service Award (DSA)—the ACS’ highest honor, presented annually. The Board of Regents of the ACS presented the DSA to Dr. Meredith in appreciation of “his continuous and devoted service as a Fellow” and “in recognition of his distinctive scientific contributions in cardiovascular physiology during resuscitation, trauma registries, and trauma systems.”
In addition to his previously noted service in leadership in ACS Trauma Programs, Dr. Meredith has been active in the field in various capacities—both nationally and globally. Dr. Meredith has been named a visiting professor or named lecturer at more than 20 institutions around the world, from Johannesburg, South Africa, to Quito, Ecuador. He is author or coauthor of more than 170 scientific publications, more than 20 book chapters, and one textbook, Trauma: Contemporary Principles and Therapy. He also serves on the editorial boards of numerous journals and on the Editorial Board of the weekly ACS Bulletin Brief. His research interests include thoracic trauma, the biomechanics of crash injury, injury severity measures, and trauma systems development. Over the course of his career, Dr. Meredith has been awarded 10 grants for various trauma research studies. He is the principal investigator for a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant for Integrative Training in Trauma and Regenerative Medicine, as well as a joint project with Wake Forest School of Medicine and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that established a Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network Center of Wake Forest and Virginia Tech, Blacksburg.
Dr. Meredith has held leadership roles in many other professional organizations, including president of surgical professional societies, such as the Southeastern Surgical Congress, the Eastern Association for the Surgery on Trauma, the Halsted Society, the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, and the Southern Surgical Association. Dr. Meredith has held multiple other leadership positions, including service as director of the ABS and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Meredith graduated from Emory University, Atlanta, GA, with a bachelor of arts in physics. He earned his medical degree and completed his surgical training in general surgery and in cardiothoracic surgery at what is now Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC. He completed his trauma/critical care fellowship as visiting assistant professor of surgery/trauma under the supervision of the late Donald D. Trunkey, MD, FACS, at Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital, Portland.
First Vice-President
The First Vice-President is H. Randolph Bailey, MD, FACS, FASCRS, a respected colon and rectal surgeon who practices at the University of Texas (UT)/McGovern Medical School, Houston. Dr. Bailey is professor of surgery and emeritus program director of the UT colon and rectal surgery residency training program. He is chief, division of colon and rectal surgery, Memorial Hermann Hospital Texas Medical Center, and deputy chief of surgery, Houston Methodist Hospital. A Fellow of the ACS since 1976, Dr. Bailey has served as a member of the ACS Board of Regents (B/R) (2003−2012). As a Regent, he served on the following B/R committees: Executive Committee (2011−2012), Finance Committee (2010−2011), Finance Committee Investment Subcommittee (2006−2011), and Communications Committee (2003−2004).
He is a member of the Board of Directors of the ACS Foundation. He was an ACS Governor (2002−2004) and served in various capacities on the ACS Advisory Council for Colon and Rectal Surgery (1995−2012) and was its Chair (1996−2001); he was Chair of the ACS Advisory Council Chairs (2000–2001). He was Vice-Chair of the Legislative Committee (2011−2016). He also has been a member of the Health Policy and Advocacy Group (2012−2015) and has served on the Member Services Liaison Committee (Chair, 2004−2008, member, 2011−2012). He served in various capacities on the Patient Education Committee (Chair, 2004−2008, Co-Chair, 2009−2013, Consultant, 2013−2014). He also served on the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Committee (2004−2007).
Dr. Bailey is a past-president of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons and the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery. He is a member of the American Surgical Association, the Texas Surgical Society, and the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons.
He is a graduate of Rice University, Houston, and earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; completed his internship at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas; completed his general surgery training at the University of Texas, Houston; and did his fellowship training at Ferguson Hospital, Grand Rapids, MI.
Second Vice-President
The Second Vice-President is Lisa A. Newman, MD, MPH, FACS, FASCO, director, interdisciplinary breast program; and chief, division of breast surgery, and medical director, International Center for the Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes, Weill Cornell Medicine-New York Presbyterian Hospital Network. She also is an adjunct professor of breast surgery at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.
An ACS Fellow since 1994, Dr. Newman has been an active member of the Commission on Cancer (2001−2009), serving on the CoC Scientific Review Subcommittee (2005−2007) and as a CoC Liaison (2001−2009). She has been a member of the Scholarships Committee (2013−2019), the Nominating Committee of the Fellows (2009−2010), and the Committee on Diversity Issues (2005−2008).
Dr. Newman’s research interests include cancer incidence and outcome disparities, with a focus on breast cancer disparities related to racial/ethnic background and socioeconomic resources, triple-negative breast cancer, neoadjuvant systemic therapy for breast cancer, lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy for breast cancer, and breast cancer risk assessment. She has been awarded 13 research grants from the NIH, the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and other funders. She has authored or coauthored 142 peer-reviewed publications.
She serves on the editorial board for JAMA Surgery, and she is a Komen Scholar, as well as scientific advisory board member for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. At present, she is a peer reviewer for Annals of Surgical Oncology, JAMA Surgery, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Clinical Oncology.
In addition to the ACS, Dr. Newman is a member of the Association of Women Surgeons, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Breast Surgeons, Society of Surgical Oncology, Society of Black Academic Surgeons, and American Surgical Association, among others.
Dr. Newman earned a bachelor of arts degree from Harvard University, Cambridge, and her medical degree from State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn. She completed her general surgery residency at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and her surgical oncology fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her master of public health degree is from the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston.
