Newswise — Grace Mak, MD, Professor of Surgery, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, and Vice Chair for Surgeon Life and Professional Development, has been named Chief of Pediatric General Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief of Comer Children's Hospital, effective August 1, 2023. Mak succeeds Jessica Kandel, MD, the Mary Campau Ryerson Professor of Surgery, who has served as Chief for the past ten years. Kandel will transition to Vice Chair of Academic Affairs in the Department of Surgery, and John Alverdy, MD, the Sara & Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery, will continue as Executive Vice Chair and will become Vice Chair of Research for the Department.
Mak joined the faculty in 2009 after serving as the first pediatric surgical fellow during the tenure of the late Dr. Donald Liu. She is a nationally recognized leader and pediatric surgeon, building a busy clinical practice and becoming known as a gifted technical surgeon and compassionate physician. She has progressively served in important leadership roles in the Department of Surgery and at Comer Children’s Hospital, including Program Director of the Pediatric Surgery Fellowship, Medical Director of the Comer Operating Rooms, and the inaugural Vice Chair of Surgeon Life and Professional Development. During her tenure as Vice Chair, she has worked on surgeon professional development, well-being, resilience, engagement, and transitional phases of the surgical career. In addition, Mak has been responsible for the creation of numerous centers and programs, including the Pediatric Colorectal Reconstruction Center, Pediatric HIPEC Program, and Pediatric MALS Program. She will continue growing pediatric general surgery programs and affiliations as Section Chief.
In addition to her work within the institution, Mak is also highly visible within the national pediatric surgical community. She chairs multiple committees, including the Association of Pediatric Surgery Training Program Directors’ Applicants Committee, and the American Pediatric Surgical Association Task Force on Transition to Practice. She also serves as Vice Chair of the American Pediatric Surgical Association’s Education Committee and as an Examiner for the Pediatric Surgery Certifying Exam of the American Board of Surgery. She is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Department of Surgery Excellence in Teaching Award and the Distinguished Clinician Award from the Biological Sciences Division. In addition, she is a Bucksbaum Institute Associate Junior Faculty Scholar.
During her tenure, Kandel's outstanding service in leading the pediatric surgical enterprise has led to significant growth in the section, both programmatically and academically. She helped establish the University of Chicago Medicine’s partnership with the Advocate-Atrium Health System in the form of the Chicagoland Children’s Healthcare Alliance (CCHA). She recruited and built a world-class pediatric surgical team located at three hospitals in the Chicagoland area, extending virtual coverage to many additional sites across the region. She is a consummate surgeon-scientist, having had both NIH and extramural funding studying VEG-F, neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, angiogenesis, and vascular/lymphatic malformations, and has mentored numerous general surgery residents and pediatric surgeons throughout her career. Kandel recently served as President of the American Pediatric Surgical Association (2022-2023), a high distinction in the field of pediatric surgery, and she will continue to lend her unique leadership style and commitment to providing exceptional pediatric surgical care to make an ongoing impact in her new role.
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