March 30, 2021
5 min read

Conte Appointed System Chair
John V. Conte, MD, is the new system chair of cardiothoracic surgery at Geisinger Health System and vice chair of the Geisinger Heart Institute in Danville, Pennsylvania. Before accepting this role, Dr. Conte served as chief of the Division of Cardiac Surgery at Penn State Health and the associate director of the Penn State Heart and Vascular Institute in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He has been an STS member since 1999.

Cooke Promoted at UC Davis    
David Tom Cooke, MD, recently was appointed chief of the newly assembled Division of General Thoracic Surgery at the University of California Davis Health in Sacramento. In addition to this new role, Dr. Cooke will continue to serve as vice chair for faculty development and wellness and director of the general thoracic surgery robotics program. An STS member since 2010, Dr. Cooke leads the STS Workforce on Diversity and Inclusion.

Cox Receives Jacobson Innovation Award 
James L. Cox, MD, was honored this past February with the 2020 Jacobson Innovation Award from the American College of Surgeons. This international award recognizes living surgeons who have developed new surgical approaches or techniques. Dr. Cox is best known for the Cox-Maze procedure, which implements a series of incisions that form scar tissue blocking the erratic electrical impulses of atrial fibrillation and has been the “gold standard” for treating the condition since its development in 1987. He has been an STS member since 1985.

Forbess Heads UMD Children's Heart Program
Joseph M. Forbess, MD, MBA, has been named surgical director of the Children’s Heart Program at the University of Maryland (UMD) Children’s Hospital and appointed professor of surgery in the Division of Cardiac Surgery at the UMD School of Medicine in Baltimore. Previously, he was executive co-director of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Heart Center in Chicago and professor of surgery at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.  Dr. Forbess has been an STS member since 2003.

Kon Directs Transplant Programs at Northwell
Zachary N. Kon, MD, now serves as surgical director of both the advanced heart failure and cardiac transplantation program and the advanced lung failure and lung transplantation program for Northwell Health in Manhasset, New York. Most recently, he served as surgical director of the lung transplantation program and the pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary thromboendarterectomy program at NYU Langone Health in New York City. Dr. Kon has been an STS member since 2010.

Mullett Chairs Commission on Cancer
Timothy W. Mullett, MD, MBA, from UK HealthCare in Lexington, Kentucky, has been installed by the American College of Surgeons as chair of its Commission on Cancer (CoC). The CoC is one of the largest cancer organizations in the world, with more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the US and Puerto Rico. The CoC also supports the National Cancer Database, which tracks national trends and demographics of cancer incidence. Dr. Mullett is medical director of the Markey Cancer Center Research Network and professor of surgery at the University of Kentucky. He has been an STS member since 2001.

Weyant Leads Team at Inova
Michael J. Weyant, MD, is the new chief of thoracic surgery for Inova Health System in Falls Church, Virginia, and holds the newly created position of Moran Family Endowed Chair in Thoracic Oncology. He also serves as co-director of the Thoracic Oncology Program at the Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Fairfax, Virginia. Prior to this position, Dr. Weyant was a professor of surgery and an associate professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, and a thoracic surgeon at National Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado. He has been an STS member since 2007 and chairs the STS Membership Committee.

Stiles Is New Chief at Montefiore
Brendon M. Stiles, MD, has joined Montefiore Health System and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York, as chief of thoracic surgery and surgical oncology. He also serves as associate director of surgical oncology for the Albert Einstein Cancer Center. Dr. Stiles moved to Montefiore from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. An STS member since 2010, he serves on the STS Workforce on Media Relations and Communications.

Gammie Joins Johns Hopkins
James S. Gammie, MD, has moved to Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, as co-director of The Johns Hopkins Heart and Vascular Service Line. He also has been appointed the James T. Dresher Sr. Professor of Surgery at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Gammie previously served as chief of the Division of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. He has been an STS member since 2003.

Mandal Heads Cardiovascular Services in Michigan 
Kaushik Mandal, MD, MPH, MS, is the new chief of cardiovascular services at the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) Sinai-Grace Hospital in Michigan and clinical professor of surgery at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit. Before joining DMC, he was director of robotic cardiac surgery and surgical research at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and associate professor of surgery at Penn State College of Medicine in State College, Pennsylvania. Dr. Mandal has been an STS member since 2015.