CHICAGO, Ill., July 11, 2016 — As he completed his term as president of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), Dr. Bruce A. Perler began his term as chair of the SVS Foundation at the society’s 2016 Vascular Annual Meeting near Washington, D.C. in June. The Foundation supports research to improve the quality of vascular patient care.
Dr. Perler will oversee the foundation’s competitive, peer-reviewed, grant-making initiatives, which are made possible by contributions from members, medical societies and corporations.
“At a time of shrinking federal resources for research funding, the SVS Foundation is more important than ever,” he said. “Our support funds the ground-breaking research initiatives of our members whose contributions improve the care of vascular patients.”
His goal for the 2016-17 year is to reach out to philanthropic foundations with similar missions.
“But in order to be successful,” he explained, “we must significantly increase our member donations so that we can show other philanthropists that our membership enthusiastically supports the Foundation. Widespread membership participation is critical in securing investment from outside sources and to that end, members should know that no donation is too small.”
Medical societies that contribute to the SVS Foundation include the Society for Vascular Surgery, American College of Surgeons, American Podiatric Medical Association, Eastern Vascular Society, Midwestern Vascular Surgical Society, New England Society for Vascular Surgery, Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery, Southern Association for Vascular Surgery, Vascular & Endovascular Surgery Society and the Western Vascular Society.
Dr. Perler is the Julius H. Jacobson II, MD Professor of Vascular Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; and vice chair for clinical operations and financial affairs for the Department of Surgery and chief emeritus of the Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Dr. Perler earned both his undergraduate and medical degrees at Duke University. At Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital, he completed his internship and residency in general surgery as well as a clinical and research fellowship in vascular surgery. He earned a master’s in business administration degree at the Carey School of Business, Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Perler is one of only five individuals to serve as SVS president, co-editor of the Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS) and co-editor of “Rutherford's Textbook of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy,” and the only person to do so simultaneously. Further, he recently was appointed as the Associate Executive Director of the American Board of Surgery for Vascular Surgery.
Dr. Perler and his wife Patti have two children. Mason has a degree in computer science and is a software engineer for a multinational retailer in Boston. Rachel is a rising senior at Yale University with a double major in ecology/evolutionary biology and environmental science with a human health concentration.
Dr. Perler is immediate past president of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS). Among the major accomplishments of his presidency, he established an SVS public relations infrastructure to communicate the unique competencies of vascular surgeons in diagnosing and treating vascular disease to hospital administrators, payors and the public.
He firmly believes that our leadership in vascular clinical care must be aligned with our contributions to vascular research, which is so dependent upon our Foundation.
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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.