The UK Department of Surgery welcomes four new surgeons to its faculty in September, including specialists in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, and two additional surgeons to the Division of Vascular Surgery. By the end of October, the department will have added 11 new surgeons to UK Healthcare to serve the needs of Kentucky patients.
Damon McIntire, M.D. - Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
The Division of Plastic Surgery is excited to welcome Damon McIntire, M.D., as he begins his academic career. He will assume the role of assistant program director in the UK Integrated Plastic Surgery Residency, given his strong interest in education.
Having completed an aesthetic society endorsed fellowship in body contouring at the University of Pittsburgh, his primary clinical focus will be in this area. However, he will perform a wide variety of plastic surgery procedures, including aesthetic surgery.
He is a frequent contributor to published research in a wide range of peer reviewed journals in plastic surgery and craniofacial surgery and authored several book chapters. In May 2024, McIntire was recipient of the Body Contouring Research Foundation's Clinician Award at the annual meeting of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons. Later that same year, his oral presentation was selected as Outstanding Paper Presentation at the 2024 edition of Plastic Surgery, The Meeting (PSTM), the annual conference of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
In addition to his publications, McIntire was recipient of a Positive Champion Teaching Award from the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University while serving as chief resident. The award recognizes medical educators who promote "a healthy and inclusive learning environment" among their students.
McIntire chose UK because of the opportunity to be part of an institution with such a strong history of, and interest in, medical student and resident education. He is excited to practice at a place where his clinical niche is needed by the community and supported by the institution.
Erin McAtee, D.O. - Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery
Erin McAtee is pleased to join the Colon and Rectal Surgery faculty after completing her fellowship in the division in July 2026.
McAtee's association with the UK Department of Surgery began as a resident in general surgery in 2019, serving as a surgical intern at the height of the global COVID epidemic in 2020. Her first years as a surgical resident coincided with teaching hospitals across the nation making swift, significant procedural changes to protect patients and continue resident education.
To try and mitigate burnout among surgeons and residents under high pressure conditions, McAtee was among the founding members of the department's Surgical Wellness Committee. She helped to establish a formal training curriculum for preliminary surgical residents within the department, creating a defined pathway to successfully continuing their training. In the latter years of her residency, McAtee was a recipient of UK Surgery's annual resident teaching awards in 2021 and 2023, as well as during her colorectal fellowship in 2026.
She earned her D.O. degree from the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) in 2019. While in medical school, McAtee demonstrated her personal initiative and leadership skills as a founding member of a student chapter of the American Medical Women's Association at ACOM, as well as serving as a teaching assistant for the anatomy lab.
McAtee completed a minimally invasive colorectal surgery fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, focusing on robotic techniques for complex colorectal pathology. She then chose to return to the University of Kentucky to complete her training in colorectal surgery.
“I am truly fortunate to be back in the Commonwealth to begin my surgical practice with faculty and staff I know and trust,” McAtee states. “When looking for practices, I wanted to identify a place where I could provide the best quality care for my patients the state of Kentucky.”
UK Vascular Surgery welcomes new vascular surgeons
By October 2026, the UK Division of Vascular Surgery will welcome five new surgeons to its faculty including a new division chief. The first to arrive, George Lodeiros, M.D. began his UK practice in June. Starting in September, the division welcomed two additional new faculty members: Jahanzeb Kaikaus, M.D. and William "James" Melvin, M.D.
Jahanzeb Kaikaus, M.D. - Division of Vascular Surgery
Kaikaus brings to the UK Division of Vascular Surgery a balance of experience in global and rural patient care, teaching excellence, and research. More than that, though, he is deeply familiar with the specific needs of Kentucky families from his years as a general surgery resident from the University of Louisville.
Earlier in 2026, Kaikaus completed his two year vascular surgery fellowship from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The program is considered among the leading national programs in the specialty.
While a surgical resident at UofL, he thrived amid the challenges of the COVID epidemic. He twice earned the Vascular Surgery Service Award from the UofL Department of Surgery and was also a recipient of the Frank B. Miller Excellence in Teaching Award.
Kaikaus has a keen interest in outreach and global surgery. As an undergrad at Rice University, he traveled to Honduras as a volunteer to provide support to physicians and medical aid to underserved populations. He also coordinated volunteers to provide free weekly care to underserved Asian and South Asian populations in Chicago while attending Rush Medical School.
In his chief year at Louisville, he served as a junior attending surgeon at Mzuzu General Hospital in Malawi, Africa under the guidance of Charles Park, M.D..
He is pleased to be able to begin his professional practice at UK Healthcare serving Kentucky families and those in adjoining regions of UK's service area.
William "James" Melvin, M.D. - Division of Vascular Surgery
In addition to James Melvin's clinical vascular surgery practice, he has a partial research appointment in the UK College of Medicine. With his background in research and medical device development, he will be assigned a translational science laboratory in the Saha Cardiovascular Research Center studying vascular graft infections and ways to prevent and treat them.
While completing his general surgery residency and subsequent vascular surgery fellowship at the University of Michigan, Melvin exercised an option to devote two years to research in the course of completing his surgical residency. Between the years 2018 - 2024, his research has received over $260,000 in grants and fellowship awards, including two development grants from Michigan to help with development of a medical assist device as well as a one-year NIH F32 grant.
James Melvin's research team was awarded a provisional patent for a novel medical assist device, the RETREVA Laparoscopic Specimen Retrieval Device.
In addition to those grants and a growing list of publications as first author or co-author, Melvin's research earned awards from the Society of Vascular Surgery, the Society of University Surgeons, as well as Michigan-based recognitions: the Lindenauer Vascular Resident Research Award from University of Michigan Vascular Surgery and the Bryant Arnold Resident Research Award from the Coller Surgical Society.
"I am looking forward to serving the patients of Kentucky and contributing to the department's multiple missions including research and education," Melvin said