CHICAGO (September 25, 2026) — Six distinguished surgeons with leadership positions in global health across the nation and abroad will be recognized for their relentless efforts to bring surgical care to underserved communities worldwide, receiving the 2026 American College of Surgeons (ACS)/Pfizer Surgical Volunteerism and Humanitarian Awards.
The honorees will be celebrated at the ACS Clinical Congress 2026 during the annual Board of Governors reception and dinner in Washington, DC. The awards, presented by the ACS Board of Governors Surgical Volunteerism and Humanitarian Awards Workgroup, are administered through the ACS Health Outreach Program for Equity in Global Surgery (ACS H.O.P.E.®).
Juan Carlos Puyana, MD, FACS, professor of surgery and critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania and the O'Brien Chair of Global Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Dublin, will receive the ACS/Pfizer Academic Global Surgeon Award for more than three decades of work transforming trauma care and surgical education in resource-limited settings. Through enduring partnerships across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, Dr. Puyana has strengthened trauma systems, expanded blood transfusion services, established trauma registries, and supported the development of national treatment protocols. He has mentored more than 25 international trainees who have gone on to lead hospitals, academic departments, trauma programs, registries, and ministries of health throughout Latin America and Africa.
Steven M. Roser, DMD, MD, FACS, the Delos Hill Chair of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, professor of surgery, and residency program director at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, and chief of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Grady Memorial Hospital, will receive the ACS/Pfizer International Surgical Volunteerism Award for more than 50 years of dedication to restoring lives and expanding access to care for children born with cleft lip and palate deformities worldwide. Beginning with Project HOPE in China and continuing through annual volunteer missions across Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, Dr. Roser has organized and directed recurring outreach programs in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, Thailand, and Rwanda, helping provide reconstructive surgery to more than 3,000 children. He has trained more than 60 US surgical residents and 30 international trainees.
Ingrid M. Lizarraga, MBBS, FACS, medical director of the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center Breast Health Center and program director of the multidisciplinary breast fellowship at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, will receive the ACS/Pfizer Domestic Surgical Volunteerism Award for her work improving access to comprehensive cancer care in rural America. Through extensive volunteer service with the ACS Commission on Cancer (CoC), including her leadership as Iowa State Chair, Dr. Lizarraga has partnered with hospitals across the region to achieve CoC accreditation, implement evidence-based quality standards, establish multidisciplinary cancer programs, and improve access to comprehensive cancer care closer to home. Her leadership also helped shape the CoC's Rural Accreditation pathway, extending innovative approaches to rural cancer care to communities nationwide.
Brian Gavitt, MD, MPH, FACS, a distinguished military surgeon and trauma leader, will receive the ACS/Pfizer Military Surgical Volunteerism Award for his work building trauma systems, strengthening international partnerships, and investing in sustainable medical education. Among his most significant contributions was serving as the inaugural trauma director for the US military's embedded Trauma, Burn, and Rehabilitation Medicine team in the United Arab Emirates, where he worked alongside civilian clinicians at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City in Abu Dhabi to establish a comprehensive trauma program. Working with the Abu Dhabi Department of Health, Dr. Gavitt authored the nation's first trauma center standards, enacted in 2023. Since 2024, he has led the US Air Force's medical engagements across Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
Phillip J. Hsu, MD, PhD, a general surgery resident at the University of Michigan Health in Ann Arbor, will be recognized with the ACS/Pfizer Resident Surgical Volunteerism Award for his extraordinary commitment to improving access to surgical care through service, innovation, and education. As co-founder and director of the Bridgeport Free Clinic in Chicago, he led teams providing screening and urgent care services to economically disadvantaged immigrant families. During residency, Dr. Hsu broadened his impact through sustained work in Afghanistan, Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and other low-resource settings. Among his most significant contributions is ADEPT Rwanda, a Ministry of Health-supported educational initiative that equips general practitioners to recognize and manage pediatric surgical conditions while building long-term teaching capacity through a train-the-trainer model.
Stephen M. Kelley, MD, FACS, medical director of Memorial Christian Hospital in southeastern Bangladesh, will be honored with the ACS/Pfizer Surgical Humanitarian Award for nearly three decades of providing surgical care for patients who would otherwise have little or no access to lifesaving treatment. Since 1996, Dr. Kelley has made southeastern Bangladesh his home, where he has performed more than 30,000 operations while introducing the region's first laparoscopic, thoracic, vascular, and advanced endoscopic procedures. He has mentored generations of Bangladeshi physicians and healthcare professionals and helped establish training programs for nurses, medics, operating room technicians, and surgical trainees. He also led the planning, fundraising, and construction of a modern 125,000-square-foot replacement hospital.
Clinical Congress attendees are invited to hear the honorees speak on their experiences at the Panel Session, "Humanitarian Surgical Outreach at Home and Abroad: Reports of the 2026 Surgical Volunteerism and Humanitarian Award Recipients," on Sunday, September 27.
Learn more about each recipient's activities in the ACS Bulletin.
Editor's Note: Photos of the award winners are available upon request by contacting pressinquiry@facs.org.
