College of Medicine announces new Department of Surgery Chair
Dr. Robert DiPaolo, Dean of the UK College of Medicine, officially announced that the new chair for the UK Department of Surgery will be William B. Inabnet, MD. He will begin his term on Monday, September 16, 2019. The appointment was made on the recommendation of a committee composed of UK HealthCare and College of Medicine representatives following an extensive national search for potential candidates. The following is a copy of Dr. DiPaolo's announcement:
Dr. Inabnet joins us from the Mount Sinai Health System where he is the Eugene W. Friedman, MD, Professor of Surgery and the surgical director of the Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He also serves as the system chief of endocrine surgery for the eight-hospital Mount Sinai Health System and is the founder and co-director of the Mount Sinai Adrenal Center. From 2014-18, Dr. Inabnet served as chair of surgery at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and oversaw the integration of that facility into the Mount Sinai Health System.
He completed his undergraduate and medical training at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, followed by residency training at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center and a fellowship in Surgical Endocrinology at Cochin Hospital in Paris, France.
An international authority in the field of minimally invasive endocrine surgery, Dr. Inabnet is a pioneer of new techniques in minimal access endocrine neck surgery as well as adrenal and pancreatic surgery. For close to 20 years, he and his growing team have been innovators of remote access “scarless” thyroid surgery and have introduced numerous new techniques to the United States. In 1998, he performed the first endoscopic thyroid resection in the U.S. at Mount Sinai and 18 years later was one of the first surgeons in the U.S. to excise the thyroid gland via a transoral route (leaving no scar on the neck).
In addition to endocrine surgery, Dr. Inabnet is a leader in the field of minimally invasive metabolic surgery with an interest in obesity, disorders of the endocrine system, and beta cell metabolism. Under his leadership the Mount Sinai Weight Loss Surgery Program has become one of the premier programs in the world. Dr. Inabnet and his team have participated in national and international clinical trials evaluating the role of gastrointestinal surgery in treating diabetes.
Dr. Inabnet has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and five textbooks. He lectures throughout the world and has been inducted into the Southern Surgical Association, the American Surgical Association, the French National Academy of Surgery, and the French Academy of Medicine, becoming only the fourth U.S. surgeon to achieve this honor. Additionally, he holds numerous leadership positions in the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, American Association of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, the American College of Surgeons, and the American Thyroid Association.
Dr. Inabnet is also well-recognized for his leadership and instruction. He was ranked a Castle Connolly Top Doctor New York Metro Area for 14 consecutive years and was awarded the Master Clinician Award by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Institute for Medical Education. He is the editor-in-chief of VideoEndocrinology, an online video journal of the American Thyroid Association.
As chair for the department of surgery, he will promote the educational, clinical, and research activities of the department; collaborate across the college and university to continue interdisciplinary research, instructional programs, and institutional grants; and mentor and empower faculty and learners for success.
We owe a special thank you to Dr. Jay Zwischenberger for his leadership, his service during the transition, and his assistance and dedication to identify an excellent successor. Also, thank you to the members of the search team for their time and effort. Led by Phillip Tibbs, MD, the team included John Draus, MD; Katie Ballert, MD; Jitesh Patel, MD; Roberto Gedaly, MD; Brandy Mathews; Robert Gaiser, MD; Rosalind Ritchie-Dabney, MD; Mark Evers, MD; Pat McGrath, MD; David Moliterno, MD; Mark Hoffman, MD; Lesley Wong, MD; Douglas Andres, PhD; and John Phillips.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Inabnet. He will be a great advocate for our faculty and learners and will be committed to the missions of the College of Medicine. We are confident his leadership will continue the great forward momentum we are accustomed to and will keep our institution competitive as we progress with a mission-driven focus.
Empowered together and committed to purpose,
Robert S. DiPaola, MD
Dean, College of Medicine
