Member News May 2025

Ahuja Takes Over as Dean in Wisconsin

Nita Ahuja, MD, MBA, FACS, is dean of the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health and chancellor for medical affairs at UW-Madison. A gastrointestinal oncology surgeon, Dr. Ahuja previously served as the William H. Carmalt Professor of Surgery and chair of the Department of Surgery at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, as well as chief of surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital and surgeon-in-chief for the Yale New Haven Health System, both in Connecticut.

Salim Is Chief of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery

Ali Salim, MD, FACS, has been appointed division chief of trauma and acute care surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital Academic Medical Center in Boston. Dr. Salim is a professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School in Boston and previously served as chief of the Division of Trauma, Burn, Surgical, and Critical Care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), where he has been since 2013. He also is co-medical director of the Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation at BWH.

Wolfe Leads Neurosurgery at Wake Forest

Stacey Qintero Wolfe, MD, FACS, is chair of the Department of Neurosurgery and the Eben Alexander Chair in Neurosurgery at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Dr. Wolfe joined Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in 2013 as director of neurointerventional surgery and residency program director. She built a hemorrhagic stroke research program and is co-principal investigator of the National Institute of Health StrokeNet regional center at Wake Forest Baptist.

Santos Chairs Surgery in Texas

Ariel P. Santos, MD, MPH, FRCSC, FACS, was appointed the Peter C. Canizaro Endowed Chair of Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) in Lubbock. Previously, Dr. Santos, a tenured professor and board-certified surgeon in surgical critical care and general surgery, was chief of the Division of Acute Care Surgery and vice chair of the Department of Surgery at TTUHSC. He also is director of telemedicine in the TTUHSC School of Medicine and principal investigator for the TexLa Telehealth Resource Center. For the ACS, Dr. Santos serves on the International Relations Committee and chairs the Northern Texas Credentials committee.

Ostlie Takes Helm as Surgeon-in-Chief at Cincinnati Children’s

Daniel J. Ostlie, MD, FACS, is the surgeon-in-chief and senior vice president of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio. Dr. Ostlie oversees the Department of Surgery, which has 110 surgeons and performs more than 40,000 operations a year. Previously, he was surgeon-in-chief and chair of surgery at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona.

Shah Moves to Boston as MGB Chief of Transplantation

Shimul A. Shah, MD, MHCM, FACS, a multiorgan transplant and hepatobiliary surgeon, is chief of transplant surgery at Mass General Brigham (MGB) in Boston. He previously was professor and chief of solid organ transplantation at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, where he also held the James and Catherine Orr Endowed Chair in Liver Transplantation. In addition, Dr. Shah recently was named president-elect of the Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association.

Laurencin Is Appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St. Lucia

Cato T. Laurencin, MD, PhD, FACS, was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Lucia, a national order of the Caribbean island established by Queen Elizabeth II and now awarded under King Charles III. This elevates his title to Professor Sir Cato Thomas Laurencin. Dr. Laurencin is the university professor and Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Connecticut in Farmington.

Joseph Serves on ARC/STSA Board

Kathie-Ann P. Joseph, MD, MPH, FACS, was named to the Board of Directors for the Accreditation Review Council on Education in Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (ARC/STSA). Dr. Joseph, who was appointed by the ACS Board of Regents, represents the College on the ARC/STSA Board. The ACS has sponsored the ARC/STSA since its inception in 1972, and provides representation and guidance through two board appointments, which are nominated by the ACS’s Committee on Interprofessional Education and Practice. Dr. Joseph, a breast cancer surgeon, is a professor of surgery and population health at New York University (NYU) Langone Health in New York. She also is co-director of the Welters Breast Health Outreach & Navigation Program.

Have you or an ACS member you know achieved a notable career highlight recently? If so, send potential contributions to Jennifer Bagley, MA, Bulletin Editor-in-Chief, at jbagley@facs.org. Submissions will be printed based on content type and available space.