J. David Richardson, MD, FACS, next President-Elect of the ACS

J. David Richardson, MD, FACS, professor of surgery and vice-chairman, department of surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, KY, was elected President-Elect of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) at the Annual Business Meeting of the Members, October 29, in San Francisco, CA. The First and Second Vice-Presidents-Elect also were elected at the meeting.

Multifaceted surgeon and educator

An eminent general, thoracic, and trauma surgeon and surgical educator, Dr. Richardson is a 1970 graduate of the University of Kentucky School of Medicine, Lexington. He completed a surgery internship and worked as a junior assistant resident at the University of Kentucky before moving to the School of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio to complete a general surgery and a thoracic surgery residency.

After completing his surgical training in 1976, he returned to Kentucky to teach and practice at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. He rose through the academic ranks at the institution, starting as an assistant professor of surgery and becoming associate professor of surgery in 1979. He has served in his current positions as professor of surgery and vice-chair of the department of surgery since 1983 and 1985, respectively. He has served as chief of surgery service and director of emergency surgical services at the University of Louisville Hospital since 2005.

Dr. Richardson became an ACS Fellow in 1980. Since then, he has served the ACS in various leadership capacities, most recently as Chair of the Board of Regents (2011–2012). In that role, he also chaired the Regents’ Finance and Executive Committees.

Dr. Richardson was a member of the ACS Board of Regents from 2003 to 2010, when he became Vice-Chair. He also has played a leadership role on several other ACS committees. He was the ACS Governor from Kentucky (1989–1995) and served on the Governors Committee on Surgical Infections (1992–1995). He was Chair of the Research and Optimal Patient Care Committee (2004–2011) and Vice-Chair of the Health Policy and Advocacy Group (2010–2011). He has been an active member of the ACS Committee on Trauma (COT), having served as Chair of the Emergency Services-Prehospital Subcommittee (1992–1999) and as a member of the COT’s Executive Committee (1992), Membership Committee (1993), and Verification/Consultation Committee (1993).

In addition, Dr. Richardson has served on the ACS Advisory Council for General Surgery (1997–2002), the Advisory Council for Vascular Surgery as a Regent (2003–2006), and the Advisory Council for Rural Surgery as an Ex Officio member (2011–2012). He also was a member of the ACS Committee on Video-Based Education (1991–1997). Currently, Dr. Richardson is Chair of the ACS Transition to Practice Program in General Surgery Steering Committee.

At the state level, he has served as Chair (1985–1987) and Vice-Chair (1981–1985) of the Kentucky COT, and he has been Secretary-Treasurer (1983–1986) and President (1987) of the Kentucky Chapter of the ACS. He served on the Kentucky Committee on Applicants (1997–2002) as well.

In addition to his leadership roles within the ACS, Dr. Richardson has served at the highest levels in the following organizations: former director (1987) and chairman (1998–1999), American Board of Surgery; director (1994), American Board of Emergency Medicine; president (1999), American Association for Surgery of Trauma; president (1999), Southeastern Surgical Congress; president (2003), Southern Surgical Association; and secretary (1995–2000) and president (2000–2001), Western Surgical Association. Additionally, he served on the Association of American Medical College’s Medical College Admissions Test content review committee (1988) and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s Residency Review Committee (2000–2007). At the state level, he was the founding president of the Kentucky Vascular Surgical Society (1989) and president of the Kentucky Surgical Society (1987).

A prolific author, Dr. Richardson has published more than 345 articles in peer-reviewed publications, 50 book chapters, and has 10 publications in press. He currently is the editor of The American Surgeon, serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, is an editorial consultant for The Journal of Trauma Injury, Infection & Critical Care, and is on the editorial board of the International Scholarly Research Network.

Vice-Presidents-Elect

The Vice-Presidents-Elect also were elected at the Annual Business Meeting. The First Vice-President-Elect is Ronald V. Maier, MD, FACS, Jane and Donald D. Trunkey Endowed Chair in Trauma Surgery, and professor and vice-chairman of surgery, University of Washington (UW) Medicine, Seattle. Dr. Maier also is surgeon-in-chief at Harborview Medical Center and director of the Northwest Regional Trauma Center.

A Fellow of the College since 1984, Dr. Maier has played an active role on several key ACS committees, particularly the COT. He chaired the COT’s Ad Hoc Committee on Prevention (1992–2002) after serving as a member of the subcommittee for three years (1989−1992). He also served on the COT Performance Improvement Committee (1994–2004), Trauma System Committee (1994–2004), Committee on Emerging Surgical Technology and Education member (2001) and senior member (2001–2003), Regional Committee Organization (1990–2000), and Publications Committee (1988–2004).

He was State Chair for the COT (1987–1990) and Chair of Region 10 for the COT (1990–1996). He has been an active member of the Program Committee, serving as Consultant (2007–present), Vice-Chair (2004–2005), and member (2004–2007). He served on the Committee for the Forum on Fundamental Surgical Problems (1991–1994) as well.

Dr. Maier has held numerous leadership positions in other surgical organizations, exemplified by having served as president of the Society of University Surgeons, Surgical Infection Society, Shock Society, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, and the Halsted Society, in addition to being Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Board of Surgery.

Dr. Maier’s research interests include cell biology of inflammation, dysregulation of the immune response after severe injury, wound healing, gene expression response to injury, modulation of inflammatory mediators, acute respiratory distress syndrome, biomaterials for healing, injury prevention, trauma care outcomes, and trauma systems analyses. Dr. Maier’s research efforts have been recognized through prestigious awards from the Shock Society, the American Heart Association, and the American Surgical Society. He received the ACS Sheen Award for Contributions to Medicine and Medical Research in 2013.

The Second Vice-President-Elect is Walter J. Pories, MD, FACS, founding chair, department of urgery; professor of surgery, biochemistry, and kinesiology; and director, bariatric surgery research group, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.

A Fellow of the College since 1964, Dr. Pories is a former ACS Governor (1986–1992) and was on the Governors’ Committee on Surgical Practice (1989–1993). He has played an active role on the International Relations Committee as Vice-Chair (1984–1986) and as a member/senior member (1980–1990). He served as Secretary of the Ohio Chapter of the ACS (1974–1977) while on the faculty at Case Western Reserve, Cleveland, and as President of the North Carolina Chapter (1985–1986).

Dr. Pories’ major clinical interests have been in pediatric and bariatric surgery. His research interests include the discovery that zinc is an essential element and required for wound healing, the development of animal feeds, and the addition of trace elements to parenteral and alimentary formulations. He was the first surgeon to describe wound suction and the cisterna chyli/vena cava anastomosis. He also was the first surgeon to describe the full and sustained remission of type 2 diabetes following gastric bypass surgery.

He has served as the president of several surgical societies and as editor or associate editor of a number of journals. He is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Goldwater Award in Nutrition, the McGovern Award, and the Max O. Joyner Award.