[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"841","field_deltas":{},"link_text":null,"attributes":{"height":3000,"width":2400,"style":"width: 177px; height: 221px; margin-left: 8px; margin-right: 8px; float: left;","class":"media-image media-element file-media-large","data-delta":"1"},"fields":{}}]]CHICAGO, Ill., July 11, 2016 -- Dr. Michel S. Makaroun, a professor of surgery and of clinical and translational science at the University of Pittsburgh, was elected vice president of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) at the Society’s 2016 Vascular Annual Meeting in June.
Dr. Makaroun, who was born and raised in Lebanon, has been at the University of Pittsburgh for 36 years. He earned his medical degree and spent his first three years of residency at the American University of Beirut before joining the training program in Pittsburgh in 1980. He finished his training at the University Health Center of Pittsburgh and joined the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 1986.
Dr Makaroun has been active in the SVS since 1997 and most recently has served on the executive, international relations, membership and document oversight committees. He is a distinguished fellow of the SVS and served as secretary from 2013-2016.
He has held 33 visiting professor or honorary lecture positions and has authored or co-authored 203 refereed publications and 57 book chapters. He has been the principal investigator or co-investigator on numerous grant-funded projects.
In his new leadership role, Dr. Makaroun hopes to support the strategic goals of the SVS especially increasing opportunities for additional training positions for vascular surgeons. Dr. Makaroun worked to develop both fellowship and residency training programs in Pittsburgh graduating four surgeons each year. Along with Dr. Richard Cambria, he has been instrumental in efforts to increase the number of vascular surgical fellowships around the U.S.
“We need to redouble our efforts,” Dr. Makaroun said. “We are probably producing no more than 150 vascular surgeons a year and I think we should strive to produce at least 200 a year. Many vascular surgeons are in their mid-50s and will retire in next 10 years. The demand is tremendous and we need to figure out how we will address that. This certainly is a complex problem, not the least of which is limited funding for training positions, and it will take a lot of patient, hard work.”
Dr. Makaroun and his wife, Silva, who is a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of Pittsburgh, have two grandchildren and two adult children, both physicians. Their son Sami just joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh in the division of maternal fetal medicine. His daughter Lena just finished her training in geriatric medicine.
##
The Society for Vascular Surgery® (SVS) is a 5,400-member, not-for-profit professional medical society, composed primarily of specialty-trained vascular surgeons, which seeks to advance excellence and innovation in vascular health through education, advocacy, research and public awareness. The Society is based in Chicago, Illinois.