A S SO C I AT ION FOR AC A DE M IC S U RG E RY • SPR I NG 2 0 0 6

New sl e t ter
Pr e si de n t ’ s m e s s Ag e
“It is hoped that This year has brought a significant change in the structure of the Association for Academic Surgery with
regard to the annual meeting. February 2006 marked the first Academic Surgical Congress, a joint meeting
increasing the of the AAS and the Society of University Surgeons. The details of the meeting are largely in Dr. Herb Chen’s
report, but by all accounts, it was a success, as determined both by record abstract submissions and record
transparency of the meeting attendance. Credit for the concept and for the hard work and dedication required to bring the
eleion proc will concept to fruition, must be given to our previous leadership, in particular our past-presidents – Matthias
Stelzner, Perren Cobb, and Henri Ford, and our former secretary, Kim Olthoff, who navigated some choppy
encourage new member waters but managed to stay the course. For those members who did not attend this year’s meeting, I would
like to extend an invitation to the second annual ASC, which will be held in Phoenix, Arizona in February,
participation.” 2007. I hope that you will plan on attending to help celebrate the AAS’ 40th anniversary.

The primary goal of the AAS is to provide young academic surgeons with the tools that are required for
career success. Our annual meeting succeeds in one major aspect of that mission, by providing a venue for
young surgeons to present their research efforts in a collegial and supportive atmosphere. Importantly, the
meeting also provides a unique opportunity to develop a network of peers who can provide both friendship
in this issue and mentoring outside of a member’s parent institution.

A second area of career development that has been the focus of the annual meeting has been the
President Corbett’s
opportunity to serve within the organization on committees or in leadership roles. Traditionally, these
Vision for 2006-2007
opportunities for service have been determined at the business meeting. There has been concern, however,
1 that this may have disadvantaged new members, and members from smaller institutions, who may be
unfamiliar with the election process. To improve the opportunities for participation, the Executive Council
Highlights of the 2006 ASC will evaluate methods by which committee nominations (by self or by others) may be solicited on-line. An
added corollary to this will be that a clear job description will now be provided for each of the committees.
2 This should allow interested members to submit a bio-sketch prior to the annual business meeting. The bio-
sketches will then be distributed to the membership so that a candidate’s qualifications can be publicized.
News from the
Membership Committee In addition, positions available through presidential appointment will also be listed so that members who
may be interested in serving can make the president aware of their interest. It is hoped that increasing the
3 transparency of the election process will encourage the participation of new members. Please keep an eye out
for requests for information regarding committee nominations, which will be arriving by email in the fall.
Results from the AAS
Membership Survey Another challenging goal for the AAS leadership has been to better define our mission outside the Annual
Meeting. In order to provide continued education regarding academic advancement, the AAS offered
3 a Career Development Course, held for the first time in October 2005. The feedback from the course
attendees was very positive. Cited one registrant, “…this is the most useful set of lectures and talks &
Fall Courses & 2nd advice I have EVER experienced! It should be a requirement for academic-minded surgical residents prior
Academic to becoming a fellow or attending. This has re-motivated, re-energized, and re-focused my career.” The
Surgical Congress CDC will be offered again October 6-7th in Chicago, IL, in conjunction with the Fundamentals of Surgical
Research Course, to provide education, tools and support for our members to ensure their success in
5 academic surgery. (See page 5 for more information.)

Results of the
2006 Elections
6

“We had a record
number of abstracts
(494) presented at
the meeting and also
a record number of
attendees (731).”
Research
F e l low s h i p
Awa r d
The AAS Executive Council is
pleased to announce this year’s
2006 AAS Research
Fellowship Award:
Name:
Daniel A. Popowich, MD
Institution:
Northwestern University
Title of Research Project:
“Nitric Oxide Eluting
Prosthetic Grafts: Innovative
Therapy for Prolongation
of Graft Patency”
1 st A n n u a l A c a d e m i c
Surgic a l Congr ess is a Success
Herb Chen, MD, AAS Recorder and Program Committee Chair
On behalf of the AAS program committee, I would like to thank all of the presenters, moderators,
discussants, members, guests, residents, and medical students who contributed to making the 1st Annual
Academic Surgical Congress one of the best meetings the AAS has ever had! We had a record number of
abstracts (494) presented at the meeting and also a record number of attendees (731). I want to especially
thank Kim Kirkwood, the SUS publications chair, for her leadership and wisdom in integrating the AAS
and SUS meetings into one joint scientific congress.
The program consisted of the AAS and SUS plenary sessions as well as joint scientific forums and oral poster
sessions. Many attendees commented on how the combined format promoted discussion, collaboration,
and scientific exchange between the two organizations. This was definitely evident in the Education
Forum on “Training the Surgeons of Tomorrow: The Revolution in Surgical Education”, where the
AAS and SUS Committees on Education worked together to coordinate a very stimulating session, as well
as in the Forum on Social and Legislative Issues, where, again, the AAS and SUS Issues Committees
jointly put forth an excellent program. The combined efforts of both societies lead to a synergistic increase
in the depth and quality of the meeting.
Although much of the Academic Surgical Congress sessions were jointly held, the program was designed to
allow the AAS to maintain many of the events which were popular at previous AAS meetings. This year’s
AAS Founder’s lecture, “Nitric Oxide as a Signaling Molecule in the Cardiovascular System” was delivered
by Nobel Laureate Louis J. Ignarro, M.D. The AAS Informatics and Technology Committee moderated
three poster sessions focused on Emerging Technologies. The AAS Committee on Leadership organized
a terrific course entitled “Leadership in Academic Medicine Today, Changing Strategies in a Turbulent
Environment.” The AAS Membership Committee hosted a New Members Breakfast that provided new
AAS members the opportunity to get involved in the Association.
One of the additional highlights of the 1st Annual Academic Surgical Congress was the recognition of the
many outstanding oral presentations and posters given by AAS members and their trainees. Steven Farley,
M.D. from UCLA, Kandace McGuire, M.D. from Thomas Jefferson University, and Richard Whitlock,
M.D., from McMasters University were recipients of the AAS Resident Research Awards. The Best
Oral Presentation by a New AAS Member entitled “Inherent Resistance to Acute Ischemic Renal Injury
in the Brown Norway Rat is Mediated by Heme Oxygenase-1” was delivered by Brian D. Shames, MD
from the Medical College of Wisconsin, while the Best Poster Presentation by a New AAS Member
entitled “In Vivo Activation of Raf-1 Inhibits Tumor Growth and Development in a Xenograft Model of
Human MTC” was from Muthusamy Kunnimalaiyaan, PhD from the University of Wisconsin. The Best
Manuscript Award went to Shihe Liu, M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine for “Enhanced Cytotoxicity
of RIPTK gene therapy of pancreatic cancer via PDX-1 co-delivery”. John Sandoval, M.D. from Indiana
University won the Best Manuscript by a New AAS Member Award for his paper, “Proteomic Analysis of
Neuroblastoma Subtypes in Response to MAPK Inhibition: Profiling Multiple Targets of Cancer Kinase
Signaling.”
Please mark your calendars for the 2nd Annual Academic Surgical Congress February 6-9, 2007 in
Phoenix, AZ, which promises to be an even more outstanding meeting! The abstract deadline is Monday
August 28, 2006. See you there!
2
 News from the
Membership Committee
Membership Peter R. Nelson, MD, Committee Chair
applications can be The AAS has had record growth in membership (from 2319 members in 2005 to 2545 members in 2006).
submitted online at To complement the traditional academic surgeon-scientist membership, eligibility has been expanded
to include PhD surgical researchers and clinical surgeons involved in community-based research in non-
www.aasurg.org traditional academic practices. In this way, we hope to create a well-balanced, broad interest amongst the
overall membership. Representatives from each group will have input into the Membership Committee. If
you are a PhD researcher or practice in a non-traditional academic setting and are interested in serving on
Please remind your the Membership Committee, please email Jackie Reed at the AAS office (members@aasurg.org).
colleagues, residents Two important AAS programs have figured prominently in our membership growth: (1) the AAS
Institutional Representative network, and (2) the Research Collaboration Initiative.
and friends.
Since its re-establishment a year ago, the Institutional Representative (IR) program has been a great success.
Members have volunteered from a significant number of institutions and identifying representatives from
the remaining programs is a focus of current committee activity. IRs are a critical link to the membership
for communication, recruitment, feedback, and interaction with AAS leadership. We look to feature
successful approaches from outstanding IRs in future communication to provide recruiting ideas for the
entire membership. The list of IRs is posted at http://www.aasurg.org/institutionalreps.htm. If your
institution does not have an IR and you would be willing to serve, please contact Jackie Reed (members@
aasurg.org) in the membership office.

The Research Collaboration Initiative (RCI) was established to foster and facilitate collaboration amongst
our diverse membership through the creation of a “clearinghouse” of the research activities of the AAS
members. By linking members from potentially different backgrounds, but with similar research interests,
we hope to promote the sharing of ideas and experience, and perhaps even data and resources to create
a rich productive research network. It also serves to encourage the development of critical mentorship
relationships for junior faculty by connecting them with senior members with similar research interests.
We encourage everyone to enter their research activities to the RCI by logging into the AAS website under
the section for members only (http://www.aasurg.org/membersonly/index.php).

We’d like to welcome the three newly elected Membership Committee members: Leonidas Koniaris,
Craig Selzman, and Brian Shames. They join the existing committee comprised of Charles Cha, Harry
Papaconstantinou, Michael Reed, and myself.

Please feel free to contact me or any of the membership committee above with ideas or suggestions as we
look to continually improve what AAS membership means to everyone.

A A S M e m be r sh i p Su rv e y R e su lt s
Kevin Staveley-O’Carroll, MD, PhD, AAS Secretary
A survey from the AAS membership committee was recently e-mailed to over 2,000 members. 245
members responded. The results demonstrate the strengths of the society but also highlight a few
misconceptions of our membership and areas that could provide focus for improvement.

Members reported joining the AAS predominantly to network and present their research. Additionally,
senior members were shown to be very important in ongoing recruitment, as two of the leading reasons
cited for new membership were the suggestion of a colleague or of a department chair.

As expected most respondents were young academic surgeons; in fact, new members (< 2 years of
membership) made up 40% of the respondents. Perhaps more striking was the response of the senior
members (> 9 years of membership) who made up nearly 30% of those surveyed. This continued support by
senior members is certainly a telling factor of the AAS’s importance in developing young academicians.

Continued…

3
In many ways the survey revealed that the AAS is a diverse organization. General surgeons make up the
single largest group (approximately 25%), but 9 sub-specialties are strongly represented, combining to make
up 71%. This diversity extends to the types of academic careers that our members are pursuing with 64%
receiving extramural funding for clinical or basic science research while 36% are more focused as clinicians.

Despite this impressive mix, the AAS has room to be more inclusive in embracing diversity in several
ways. Non-university academic surgeons make up only 2% of the members surveyed; furthermore, 53%
of those surveyed were unaware that non-university academic surgeons could become members of the AAS.
Similarly, no PhD’s responded to this survey, and 64% of members who did respond were not aware that
their PhD colleagues were eligible to join. The average respondent was male (79%) and Caucasian (78%).
Certainly our membership goals should strive to improve diversity in these areas as well.

The respondents were particularly enthusiastic in their critique of our recent 2005 AAS Career Course:
64% rated this course as excellent, while an additional 31% described it as very good. As usual, the
Fundamentals of Surgical Research Course (FSRC) was also well reviewed, as it was described as excellent
by 45% and very good by 39%. For more information about the 2006 Career Course and FSRC, please
turn to page 5.

Two important benefits of membership in the AAS were widely unknown by those surveyed: 1) 60% did
not know that AAS membership is one of four criteria reviewed by the SUS when evaluating membership
applications. 2) 70% were unaware of the Research Collaborative Initiative (RCI), developed to create a
forum for AAS members to collaborate on research projects, share reagents and techniques, and design
multi-institution basic science and clinical research projects. Please read the membership update to learn
more about the RCI.

What is perhaps most encouraging is that 97% of those surveyed stated they would recommend joining the
AAS to their friends and colleagues.

what is your faculty rank? what are the sources of your

external funding?
instructor (Check all that apply)
(4) Fellow (9) senior resident (12)

Junior
resident
(13)

Assistant
Professor
(104) Professor (46)
American Cancer Society (6)
Department of Defense (8)
Associate Veterans Administration (9)
Professor Professional Organizations (27)
(46) Private Foundations (52)
Industry (59)
NIH (76)

why did you join the AAs? (Check all that apply)

meeting registration discount (9)

institutional representative suggested i Join (11)
Journal subscription (17)
Prestige (85)
colleague suggested i Join (109)
department chair suggested i Join (110)
opportunity to Present Abstarct (118)
networking (158)
4
 The Association for Academic Surgery
Fall Courses
October 6-7, 2006 • Chicago, IL
In Advance of the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress

Fundamentals of Surgical Research Career Development

Course Chair: Matthias G. Stelzner, MD Course Co-Chairs: Fiemu E. Nwariaku, MD & Jason B. Fleming, MD
Friday, October 6
2:00 PM – 2:15 PM Welcome & Introduction Getting Started As An Academic Surgeon
2:15 PM – 3:00 PM Reading The Literature 2:00 PM – 2:15 PM Welcome & Introduction
& Developing A Hypothesis
2:15 PM – 3:45 PM Different Paths To Success As An Academic Surgeon
3:00 PM – 3:45 PM Experimental Design • Performing Outcomes Research
& The Laboratory Notebook • Developing A Successful Educational Program
• Developing A Successful Clinical Program
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM Break • Developing A Successful Basic Research Program
• Panel: Common Themes Of Successful Program Building
4:00 PM – 4:45 PM Abstract Writing
4:45 PM – 5:30 PM 3:45 PM – 4:15 PM Break
Clinical Research
5:30 PM – 6:00 PM Break 4:15 PM – 6:00 PM Personal Strategies for Advancing Your Career
• How To Balance Your Professional & Personal Time
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Wine & Cheese Reception • Building & Maintaining A Strong Marriage During Your Career
• Can An Excellent Surgeon Be An Excellent Parent?
• Cross-training: Developing Interests Outside Of Medicine
• Panel: Setting Priorities During Your Career

6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Wine & Cheese Reception

Saturday, October 7
7:30 AM – 8:00 AM Continental Breakfast 7:30 AM – 8:00 AM Continental Breakfast
8:00 AM – 8:45 AM Research Presentations your first academic appointment:
setting up to succeed
8:45 AM– 9:30 AM Writing A Scientific Manuscript
8:00 AM – 8:30 AM Keynote Speaker
9:30 AM– 9:45 AM Break
8:30 AM – 8:45 AM Discussion
9:45 AM – 12:00 PM Breakout Sessions: Research Tools
• Software &The Internet 8:45 AM – 10:15 AM Starting Your First Position on the Right Foot
• Statistics • Finding A Mentor
• Outcomes Research • Preparing For The Tenure Process: What You Should Do In Advance
• Developing An Academic Portfolio: Research, Teaching & Service
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Lunch On Your Own
• Building A Peer Network: The Role Of The AAS
1:00 PM – 1:45 PM Writing A Research Application • Panel: Promotion & Tenure Discussion
1:45 PM – 2:30 PM Education Research 10:15 AM – 10:30 AM Break
2:30 PM – 2:45 PM Break 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Negotiating For Success
• Evaluating An Offer • Knowing What You Are Worth
2:45 PM – 3:30 PM Ethics & Informed Consent • What To Ask For? • Panel: Faculty Recruitment Scenarios
3:30 PM – 4:15 PM Achieving Balance 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Lunch
4:15 PM – 5:00 PM Inventing Your Future Finding Fuel For Your Academic Program:
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM Wine & Cheese Reception Where Is The Money?
1:00 PM – 1:30 PM Introduction To The NIH Process
1:30 PM – 2:00 PM Anatomy Of An Application
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM Mock Study Session
2:30 PM – 2:45 PM Break
2:45 PM – 4:30 PM Breakout Sessions
• The Nuts & Bolts Of Grantwriting: Developing Your Hypothesis
And Specific Aims
• How To Critically Review Medical Literature For Peer Review
Journals
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM Wine & Cheese Reception

Registration for these courses will be available through the AAS this summer.
Please watch your email for an announcement and also visit www.aasurg.org for more information.
Association for Academic Surgery • 11300 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 600 • Los Angeles, CA 90064
Phone: (310) 437-1606 • Fax: (310) 437-0585 • Email: registration@aasurg.org 5
 R e su lt s of t h e 2 0 0 6 E l e c t ion s
The following people were elected to leadership positions in the AAS during the AAS Business Meeting at the
Academic Surgical Congress or subsequently via mail vote.
President-Elect (2006-2007): Fiemu Nwariaku, MD, University of Texas SW Medical Center
Secretary (2006-2008): Kevin Staveley-O’Carroll, MD, PhD, Penn State College of Medicine
Education Committee Chair (2006-2007): Matthew Sideman, MD
Issues Committee Chair (2006-2007): Reid Adams, MD
Councilors (two-year term to begin in 2007):
1997 representative - Joe Hines, MD
1999 representative - George Sarosi, MD
2001 representative - Clifford Ko, MD
2003 representative - Rebecca Minter, MD
2005 representative - Timothy Pawlik, MD

The following people were appointed to leadership positions in the AAS by President Matthias Stelzner during the
AAS Business Meeting.
Informatics Committee Chair (2006-2008): Jeffrey Upperman, MD
Leadership Committee Chair (2006-2008): Jason Fleming, MD
Membership Committee Chair (2006-2008): Peter Nelson, MD
AAMC Representative (2006-2008): Kathrin Troppmann, MD
Board of Governors, American College of Surgeons (2006-2009): William Fisher, MD
Committee on Education and Research, American College of Surgeons (2006-2009): Richard Bold, MD