QIPS cohort

This month, the Office of Graduate Medical Education is celebrating its second class of Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QIPS) Certificate Program graduates. A small cohort of residents and fellows spent the past academic year growing in quality improvement and patient safety.

Glenda Mutinda, PhD

Taking a bold step forward, the University of Kentucky Department of Surgery established a new faculty position, director of well-being, and welcomed Glenda Mutinda, PhD, to fill that role. The director will work with department leadership across all divisions to usher in an innovative, visionary approach to clinical department management.

Surgery faculty, residents, and students were honored at the annual College of Medicine Senior Awards at all four campuses across Kentucky

Among those recognized for awards in surgery at the annual University of Kentucky College of Medicine Senior Awards Ceremony in late April were two faculty members and two residents from the UK Department of Surgery who received Distinguished Teaching Awards for the Lexington Campus.

MVPE awardees

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine is excited to share the winners of the fourth annual Mission, Vision, Pillar, and Enabler (MVPE) Awards.

Dr. London-Bounds and Amanda Crabtree were named the 2025 STS Advocates of the Year

Tessa London-Bounds, MD, MPH, and Amanda Crabtree, RN, have been honored as the 2025 Advocates of the Year by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS).

Danny Bonn, UK Department of Surgery Administrator

The UK Department of Surgery is pleased to welcome Danny Bonn, an experienced operations leader in healthcare management, as its new department administrator. He officially joined the department on March 31, 2025.

Dr. Matthias Loebe with his heart transplant patient Andy Biermann

By Alexis Baker (Click here to view article on UKNow)

Dr. Sibu Saha

To begin 2025, Sibu Saha, MD, a professor in the division of cardiothoracic surgery, established a new research award for College of Medicine medical students or residents who demonstrate excellence and promise in the field of cardiovascular research.

Avinash S. Bhakta, MD in front of the photo wall at UK Albert B. Chandler hospital.

Coming from a hardworking family, Avinash S. Bhakta, MD, originally didn’t plan to become a doctor, but providing care is his passion.

Byron Young, MD, FACS

Chair of the University of Kentucky Departments of Surgery (1985-1996) and Neurosurgery
Legacy Obituary

UK HealthCare Transplant Center
UK HealthCare Lung Transplant Team

By Hilary Brown  - Click for UKnow article

Miguel Abscala

On Dec. 13, the University of Kentucky College of Medicine hosted a premiere event that was much more than a film screening—it was a celebration of the dedication, innovation, and human spirit driving health care and education in Kentucky.

UK Weight Loss Center earns national accreditation from ACS

Josh Steiner, MD, FACS, FASMBS, director of weight loss surgery at UK HealthCare, announced that the program has received national accreditation under the Metabolic an

Drs. Erin Wolf Horrell, Tim Horrell, Masashi Kawabori, Chris Howell, Helen Wei, and Leah Winer

Five of the department of surgery’s nine clinical divisions welcomed new faculty at the beginning of September. Among them are three UK College of Medicine alumni, two of whom also attended surgery residency programs, who chose to return to the university to teach residents and serve the needs of UK’s patients.

 

Dr. Walsh presenting

Danielle Walsh, MD, professor of surgery, was recently selected as a new fellow of the International Surgical Society (ISS). Dr. Walsh was one of eight surgeons selected worldwide for this prestigious fellowship, and the only woman among this year’s inductees. 

Howard Galbreath driving an ATV vehicle on his farm

By Ashley Scoby Monday, September 9
Click here for the UKnow article

Shaun Ring in a white coat.

University of Kentucky Markey Cancer CenterDirector B. Mark Evers, MD, has been elected to the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) Board of Directors.  

Trends in research awards over the last three years

Alongside news of a second record-setting year of grant awards and contracts at the University of Kentucky, the UK Department of Surgery’s Research Division reported a 94.3% increase in funding from FY23 to FY24.

Brittany Levy, MD in her white coat.

A University of Kentucky surgery resident and researcher has been selected to participate in the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Regional Entrepreneurship Development