North Carolina Surgeon Mark C. Weissler, MD, FACS, Elected Chair of ACS Board of Regents

Newswise — CHICAGO (December 1, 2014): Mark C. Weissler, MD, FACS, Chapel Hill, N.C., was elected Chair of the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) during the College’s annual Clinical Congress, held in San Francisco, October 26-30, 2014. An otolaryngologist, Dr. Weissler is the J.P. Riddle Distinguished Professor, department of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, and chief, division of head and neck surgery, University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine, Chapel Hill.
In his role as Chair of the Board of Regents, Dr. Weissler will work closely with the ACS Executive Director and will chair the Regents’ Finance and Executive Committees. The College’s 22-member Board of Regents formulates policy and is ultimately responsible for managing the affairs of the College. The Board’s diversity and the variety of experiences and interests among its members enable the Regents to represent views related to myriad issues in contemporary surgery.
Dr. Weissler is an otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon whose work at UNC focuses on the treatment of head and neck cancer, laser utilization in head and neck surgery, and laryngeal/tracheal stenosis.¹ He is also a co-investigator on the Carolina Head and Neck Cancer Study (CHANCE). CHANCE is a population-based case-control study of head and neck cancer in a 46-county region of North Carolina. The study aims to evaluate the relationship between polymorphisms of diverse genes that, in combination with exposure to tobacco and alcohol, modify the risk of head and neck cancer.² His recent work has focused on new treatment paradigms for HPV associated oropharyngeal cancer.
An ACS Fellow since 1989, Dr. Weissler has been a member of the Board of Regents since 2006 and was a member of the ACS Board of Governors from 2002 to 2007. He has actively served in other leadership capacities for the College, as Chair of the Committee on Ethics (2011-present), Chair of the Central Judiciary Committee (2011-2012), Member and Past Chair of the Advisory Council for Otolaryngology (2002-present), and President of the North Carolina Chapter of the American College of Surgeons (2002-2003).
Outside of his involvement with the ACS, Dr. Weissler has also held leadership positions in other surgical organizations. He is one of 15 directors of the American Board of Otolaryngology (2012-present), chair of the membership committee of the American Laryngological Association (2012-2014), and holds membership in numerous other medical and surgical associations.
Dr. Weissler is a member of the editorial board of ACS Surgery News (2007-present), was a case report associate editor for Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (2009-2012), and is a reviewer for Head & Neck (1998-present) and Archives of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery (1994-present).
Dr. Weissler received a medical doctorate in 1980 from Boston University School of Medicine. He completed two years of general surgery training at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University, in 1982, and a residency in otolaryngology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard University, in 1985, followed by a fellowship in head and neck oncologic surgery at the University of Cincinnati (1985-1986).___
¹ UNC Health Care. Mark C. Weissler, MD. Available at: http://findadoc.unchealthcare.org/directory/profile.asp?dbase=main&setsize=10&last=weissler&pict_id=0001077. Accessed November 24, 2014.
² UNC Lineberger. Mark C. Weissler. Available at: http://unclineberger.org/people/mark-c.-weissler. Accessed November 24, 2014.
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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 all 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 all 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.