• Congratulations to the 2023-2024 SAAS Visiting Professors!
  •  Syed Nabeel Zafar, MD is the recipient of the 2023 SAAS Junior Faculty Award!
  • Taylor Lee, BS is the recipient of the 2023 Esther Tsai Sugg Award for the highest scoring SAAS abstract to the Academic Surgical Congress!
  • Jiping Wang, MD, PhD is the recipient of the 2023 SAAS – SUS Mid Career Award!
  • Calvin Chao, MD, is the recipient of the 2022 SAAS Resident/Fellow Development Scholarship!
  • Jeremy Chang, MD is the winner of the 2023 SAAS Annual Meeting Travel Award!
  • Russell Woo, MD is the recipient of the 2023 SAAS – SUS Leadership Agility Program Scholarship!

Baltimore, Maryland, skyline (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Welcome to Baltimore! The Johns Hopkins Department of Surgery and Dr. Andrew Cameron are pleased to host this year’s Society of Asian Academic Surgeons meeting on September 14-15, 2023.

Please join us in Baltimore, Maryland, for the SAAS 8th annual meeting, which continues to provide excellent scientific content and opportunities for fellowship and networking. SAAS strives to foster the professional and personal growth of our members and celebrate the diversity of our community.

Baltimore is a vibrant community with a rich and diverse history. There is plenty to see, do and eat. Visit baltimore.org for ideas!

Meeting Highlights

Program at Johns Hopkins Hospital Campus:

  • Surgical Grand Rounds Speaker: Carla Pugh, MD, PhD
  • Hands-On Skills Lab
  • History of Surgery Speaker: John Cameron, MD

Welcome Reception at the B&O Railroad Museum:

  • Two days filled with innovative surgical abstract presentations and networking opportunities
  • Break-out sessions and topical group discussions that provide forums to connect and learn from fellow SAAS members and academic leaders in surgery

Kuo Family Keynote Speaker: Jason Kalirai, PhD

Jason Kalirai, PhD

Dr. Jason Kalirai is the Mission Area Executive for Civil Space in the Space Exploration Sector of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). He joined APL in November 2018 and is leading the implementation of innovative and cost-effective solutions to critical civil space challenges by developing space science missions, instruments, and research programs. Major Civil Space programs under development and operation at APL include New Horizons, Parker Solar Probe, DART, Europa Clipper, Lunar Vertex, IMAP, EZIE, Dragonfly, and more. Dr. Kalirai has published over 100 research papers on topics related to astrophysics, and has won numerous awards for his achievements.

Kui Wai Fong Keynote Speaker: Kazuhiko Yamada, MD, PhD

Kazuhiko Yamada, MD, PhD

Dr. Yamada recently joined the Johns Hopkins Department of Surgery to direct research and translation efforts in xenotransplantation, transplant tolerance, and transplant immunobiology. His research focuses on elucidating mechanisms of transplant tolerance in pre-clinical large animal models and developing innovative strategies for the induction of tolerance across both allogeneic and xenogeneic barriers.

Archives

Designing an Inclusive Operating Room: For All and By All

As the surgical workforce makes strides toward greater gender and minority representation, Dr. Meghal Shah proposes ways to make the operating room, including surgical instrument design, more accessible for everyone.

SAAS Leadership Highlights

Congratulations to our members for their recent accomplishments, including Dr. Mayur B. Patel who has been named Chief of the Division of Acute Care Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

A Moment with SAAS: Herbert Chen

This season’s “A Moment with SAAS” features one of our founding members, Dr. Herbert Chen, chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

SAAS Leadership Highlights

SAAS congratulates Drs. Kenric Murayama, Thomas Varghese, Ankush Gosain, Shaun Kunisaki, and Vikas Dudeja for their recent accomplishments.

Medical Student Student Reflections

Medical students Gopika SenthilKumar and Nate Verhagen attended their first SAAS meeting in September and said the meeting offered a place for trainees to build new, lasting relationships.

Kuo Family Lectureship: Debbie Lum

“Why do we always have to play the side part? Why aren’t we the protagonist of the story?” asks award-winning filmmaker Debbie Lum at this year’s 2022 Kuo Family Lectureship.

Kui and Wai Fong Lectureship: David Hu

The 2022 Kui and Wai Fong Lectureship was delivered by Professor David Hu from Georgia Institute of Technology. David Hu is a professor of mechanical engineering who draws inspiration from his observation of nature.

Sustainability in Surgery

Connie Shao, MD, discusses the importance of sustainability in surgery in this issue of the Lotus Scroll.

SAAS Leadership Highlights

The Society of Asian Academic Surgeons would like to congratulate our members on their many recent accomplishments.

Presidential Address: ‘A is for… American. Asian. Ally.’

Tracy S. Wang, MD, MPH, delivered her Presidential Address to the Society during the 2021 SAAS 6th Annual Meeting, focusing on her thoughts regarding Asian American identity in relation to her role as SAAS president for the past two years.

President’s Message: December 2021

SAAS President Dr. Allan Tsung discusses this year’s SAAS annual meeting, the pandemic and the future of the society in his December 2021 President’s Message.

The Sequelae of Hate

Dr. Lindsey Zhang discusses the recent rise in hate crimes, racial discrimination and violence toward the Asian American community.

A Day in Ramadan as a Surgical Trainee

Dr. Hassan Mashbar, a trauma fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses his experience with Ramadan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Q&A: Dr. George Yang

The Lotus Scroll interviews George Yang, MD, PhD, former president of the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons.

SAAS Foundation 2018-2019 Visiting Professorships

Congratulations to the 2018-2019 SAAS Foundation Visiting Professors! SAAS Foundation Visiting Professorships support travel to host institutions for junior faculty to give grand rounds and increase the national visibility of rising stars in academic surgery.

SAAS on Twitter!

This year, SAAS was active more than ever on Twitter! In addition to updates and announcements, more content was created for our followers to improve engagement, highlight issues and events important to our society and members, and promote the activities at SAAS.

SAAS Executive Council: Message on the Rise of Racism

First, as the current pandemic continues to affect our communities and families, we want to express our profound gratitude to our surgical colleagues and to all healthcare professionals who are the frontlines of caring for patients with the SARS-CoV2 virus/COVID-19.

Q&A: Dr. Kenric Murayama

The Lotus Scroll is honored to interview Kenric Murayama, MD, this year’s host of the SAAS Annual Meeting.

Resident’s Corner: Work in the Time of Coronavirus

Sterile technique has leaked into the public domain, marked not only by how expensive Purell has become or how frequently we are reminded to wash our hands, but also by the ways we have come to treat one another.

President’s Message: December 2019

SAAS President Dr. Tracy Wang discusses how far the Society has come and what’s in store for 2020 in her December 2019 President’s Message.

SAAS 2019 Meeting Recap

SAAS held its 2019 Annual Meeting at the Boston Medical Center, Sept. 26-27, with more than 148 scientific presentations and breakout sessions.

SAAS 2019 Meeting Highlights

The fourth annual meeting of the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons will be held in Boston, Massachusetts, Sept. 26-27, 2019, and promises to be an incredibly fun, impactful and meaningful gathering of academic surgeons, trainees and students from both the U.S. and abroad.

Q&A: Dr. Jennifer Tseng

Jennifer Tseng, MD, MPH, is the James Utley Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at Boston University School of Medicine and surgeon-in-chief at Boston Medical Center.

Welcome to the Lotus Scroll

Welcome to the launch of Lotus Scroll, the official newsletter of the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons (SAAS). Through the Lotus Scroll, we are excited to distribute and enhance the vision of SAAS: to promote diversity and inclusion in academic surgery through the sponsorship and development of its leaders.