We are pleased to announce the appointment of Chitaru Kurihara, M.D. as in Instructor of Surgery to the Department of Surgery and Division of Thoracic Surgery. Many of you may know Dr. Kurihara as an Advanced Thoracic Surgery Fellow/Lung Failure Fellow in our department. Dr. Kurihara joined Northwestern Medicine as an Instructor of Surgery as of August 1st, 2019.

Dr. Kurihara received his M.D. from the University of Gunma in 2009. He completed his residency in Cardiothoracic Surgery and practiced as a Cardiothoracic Surgery attending at the Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital in 2014. In 2014-2016, Dr. Kurihara was an Assistant Scientist in the Division of Vascular Surgery at the University of Wisconsin and a Research Associate at Baylor College of Medicine until May 2017. Dr. Kurihara joined Northwestern University as a Fellow in Advanced Thoracic Surgery in May 2017. Dr. Kurihara will be supporting our advanced lung failure program including lung transplant/organ procurement and veno-venous ECMO/ECMO cannulation.  We look forward to having Dr. Kurihara join the faculty.

We are pleased to announce the arrival of Anne Stey, MD, M.Sc. to the Department of Surgery and Division of Trauma and Critical Care. Dr. Stey joins Northwestern Medicine as an Assistant Professor of Surgery as of August 1st, 2019.

Dr. Stey received her M.D. degree in 2009 from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. She took time during medical school to complete an M.Sc. degree in International Health Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science (2008). She completed General Surgery Residency in 2016 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. During residency, Dr. Stey completed a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar Research Fellowship at the University of California Los Angeles in 2014. After residency she completed a Pediatric Surgical Oncology Clinical Fellowship at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Stey joins us after completing a Trauma and Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Stey has a strong interest in patient care quality, outcomes and value. In addition to her clinical work in Trauma, Critical Care and Emergency Surgery she will continue this work as part of SOQIC's research team.

The vascular team welcomes Calvin Chao, from the University of Massachusetts, as the newest vascular integrated resident.

Calvin was first introduced to the team as a visiting medical student in September. He quickly connected with the service and became a valued member of the group. He has a strong background in research and engaged in community service throughout medical school. Calvin plans to pursue a career in academic surgery after residency.

Neel Mansukhani, M.D., was the fourth integrated vascular resident to graduate from the Northwestern Vascular 0+5 Training Program since the program's start, in 2009. Dr. Mansukhani will begin independent  academic practice in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Below are the listed award recipients from the first William H. Pearce, M.D. Research Symposium. Congratulations to all the winners and presenters, including the great work from the vascular division!

Medical student category: Benjamin Yu, Katherine Shapiro, Linh Ngo Khanh

Junior Resident category: Andre Son, Andres Guerra

Senior Resident category: Courtney Furlough, Rhami Khorfan, Tarik Yuce

Fellow category: Gabe Wallace, Shivangi Yadav, Pieter Norden

Dr. William H. Pearce, Emeritus Professor of Surgery at Northwestern, was awarded the Society for Vascular Surgery's (SVS) Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2019 Vascular Annual Meeting. 

The award is highest honor that the SVS bestows on one of its members, and it recognizes an individual’s outstanding and sustained contributions in leadership and professional practice. 

Dr. Pearce has been an invaluable mentor to many vascular surgeons throughout the years, and we congratulate him on his much deserved award. 

Jason Khanh, a Lanterman Vascular Surgery Student and mentee of Dr. Karen Ho, is a named recipient of the EJ Wylie Traveling Fellowship Award.

The Award is given by the Society for Vascular Surgery. The purpose of the award is to help advance the maturation of future physicians by funding travel costs to a number of excellent vascular surgery centers worldwide.

Nathaniel J. Soper, MD, the Loyal and Edith Davis Professor of Surgery, has stepped down as chair of the Department of Surgery after nearly 12 years of leadership in the role.

A national search will be conducted to recruit a successor to Soper, who will continue on as a professor in the department. Howard Chrisman, MD, MBA, professor of Radiology and of Surgery and president of Northwestern Medical Group, will serve as interim chair.

See the story on the Feinberg News Center.

Dr. Merkow has been selected as a scholar for A Chicago Center for Excellence in Learning Health Systems Research Training (ACCELERAT) program.  This highly competitive award is funded through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).