Other members of the 2017-2018 Executive Committee include:
Dr. Michel Makaroun, president-elect
Dr. Makaroun is a professor of surgery and of clinical and translational science at the University of Pittsburgh and served as SVS vice president during the presidency of Dr. Ronald Fairman.
A native of Lebanon, Dr. Makaroun earned his medical degree and spent his first three years of residency at the American University of Beirut before joining the training program at the University Health Center of Pittsburgh. He joined the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine six years later.
As president-elect, he intends to focus on the future need for more vascular surgeons, as the population ages and vascular surgeons themselves retire just as the need for such surgeons increases.
Dr. Makaroun will work to increase the number of vascular surgery training positions. With Dr. Richard Cambria, Dr. Makaroun has been instrumental in efforts to increase the number of vascular surgical fellowships in the U.S. and he developed both fellowship and residency training programs in Pittsburgh.
Dr. Makaroun has been active in the SVS for 20 years 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.
Dr. Kim J. Hodgson, vice president
The new SVS vice president, Dr. Kim J. Hodgson, just completed a three-year term as treasurer. He is chair of the division of vascular surgery at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, Ill., where he also completed his fellowship in vascular surgery.
"As the Society grows, we have much to do," he said. "I am committed to ensuring that the next generation of vascular surgeons is prepared for the changes that come so quickly in our field."
He was the inaugural editor of the Vascular Education and Self-Assessment Program (VESAP) and stayed as co-editor in chief for two subsequent editions. He served three terms as SVS treasurer, chaired the Society’s Finance Committee for three years and has been a member of the SVS Board of Directors, the SVS Foundation Board of Directors, and the Publications Committee. As vice president, he will become president-elect in 2018, and president in 2019.
Dr. Samuel Money, treasurer
Dr. Samuel R. Money, new treasurer of SVS, is a professor of surgery in the College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, in Phoenix, Ariz. He completed his fellowship in vascular surgery at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation Hospital in New Orleans. In addition to being a vascular surgeon, Dr. Money holds a master’s degree in business administration. He has held leadership roles in numerous professional societies.
Dr. Ali AbuRahma, secretary
Dr. Ali AbuRahma will continue as the Society’s secretary. He is a professor of surgery, chief of vascular and endovascular surgery and director of the vascular surgery fellowship and integrated residency programs at West Virginia University, Charleston, W. Va. He also serves as the medical director of the vascular laboratory and co-director of the Vascular Center of Excellence at Charleston Area Medical Center. Dr. AbuRahma has served on the SVS Board of Directors, the SVS Foundation Board of Directors and several other committees.
New members of the SVS Executive Committee are Dr. Michael Belkin, at-large, and Dr. William P. Shutze, chair of the Community Practice Committee.
Dr. Michael Belkin, Chief of the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and a Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, is the new at-large committee member, elected by the SVS Board of Directors. Dr. Belkin completed vascular surgery fellowships at Boston University and at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
As a devoted educator, he is interested in the training of vascular surgery fellows and general surgery residents. Dr. Belkin has authored more than 125 peer-reviewed publications and has been a member of SVS since 1995.
As chair of the SVS Community Practice Committee, Dr. William P. Shutze, automatically becomes a member of the SVS Executive Committee.
He is a graduate of the Baylor College of Medicine, and completed his vascular fellowship at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.
He is a founding partner of Texas Vascular Associates and former program director for the Baylor University Medical Center Vascular fellowship.
Dr. Shutze has been a member of SVS since 2006 and also is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the International Society for Vascular Surgery, the Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Society and the Southern Association for Vascular Surgery.