Boston Surgeon Andrew L. Warshaw, MD, FACS, Installed as 95th President of the American College of Surgeons

Newswise — SAN FRANCISCO: Andrew L. Warshaw, MD, FACS, a general surgeon from Boston, Mass., was installed as the new President of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) last night during the 100th Convocation ceremony of the College. The Convocation preceded the opening of the annual ACS Clinical Congress, which is one of the largest international meetings of surgeons in the world. Dr. Warshaw is surgeon-in-chief emeritus at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the W. Gerald Austen Distinguished Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Boston.
Dr. Warshaw’s research activities have led to immense contributions to the field of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. He is the Director of the Andrew L. Warshaw Institute for Pancreatic Cancer Research at MGH. His clinical interests have centered on diseases of the pancreas and gastrointestinal tract with a particular focus on surgical oncology. He has received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Pancreatic Association, the Ewing Medal from the Society of Surgical Oncology, and the Master Educator Award from the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract. He is also editor-in-chief of the journal Surgery. He is an author of more than 650 medical and scientific publications and an editor of 13 books.
Dr. Warshaw received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School (1963). He subsequently completed his surgical residency and a fellowship training at MGH and a fellowship at the National Institute for Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases. He was a clinical associate for two years in the Section on Gastroenterology of the National Institutes of Health. He became professor of surgery at Harvard in 1987, and in 1997 was named W. Gerald Austen Professor of Surgery, surgeon-in-chief, and chairman of the department at MGH.
Dr. Warshaw has several decades of deep involvement with the ACS since becoming a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS) in 1974. He has just completed service as Chair of the ACS Health Policy and Advocacy Group (2007 to 2014) and serves on the Board of Directors for the ACS Foundation. Prior to becoming ACS President-Elect in 2013, he served as an ACS officer in two other capacities: Treasurer (2007 to 2013), and First Vice-President (2004 to 2005).
Additionally, Dr. Warshaw has served on multiple ACS Board of Regents’ Committees including the Finance Committee (2007 to 2013), the Honors Committee (2004 to 2013), and the Research and Optimal Patient Care Committee (2004 to 2005).
Previously he served on the ACS Board of Governors (1997 to 2003) where he chaired the Governors’ Committee on Socioeconomic Issues (1999 to 2003), and still serves as an ex-officio member of the committee. While serving on the Board of Governors, he initiated the ACS SurgeonsPAC and surgical volunteerism activities that evolved into the ACS Operation Giving Back program, which facilitates domestic and international humanitarian outreach among surgeons of all specialties, at all stages of the profession.
At the local level, Dr. Warshaw served as President of the ACS Massachusetts Chapter (1991 to 1992). He also has been president of several other surgical societies: the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, the International Association of Pancreatology, the New England Surgical Society, the Halsted Society, the Boston Surgical Society, the Society of Surgical Chairs, and the American Pancreatic Association. Additionally, he served on the board of directors of the American Board of Surgery (1985 to 1993) and was the chairman of the board in 1993.
Last night, Dr. Warshaw’s delivered his presidential address, “Achieving our Personal Best: Back to the Future of the American College of Surgeons,” to surgeons from around the world who took the ACS Fellowship pledge and were conferred Fellowship in the American College of Surgeons (FACS). His remarks focused on the extraordinary work and the legacy of another Boston surgeon, the late Ernest Amory Codman, MD, FACS, the father of outcomes assessment and quality measurement in health care.
Dr. Warshaw and his wife Brenda, reside in Boston, and have a home in Martha’s Vineyard. They have six children and 13 grandchildren.
In addition, during last night’s Convocation Jay L. Grosfeld, MD, FACS, Indianapolis, Ind., was installed as ACS First Vice-President; Kenneth L. Mattox, MD, FACS, Houston, Texas, was installed as ACS Second Vice-President; and 1,640 surgeons from around the world became new Fellows of the American College of Surgeons. More than 700 of them made the trip to the Clinical Congress and were in attendance at the ceremony.
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About the American College of SurgeonsThe American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for surgical patients. The College has more than 79,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. For more information, visit www.facs.org (.)