UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson Announces New Surgery Chair

Geoffrey Gurtner, MD, has been named chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, effective Jan. 10, 2022.

“We conducted a national search and found Dr. Gurtner’s skills and experience to be exceptional. He possesses a unique combination of clinical excellence, an aptitude for educating and training students, residents and fellows, and an outstanding track record of conducting research that not only advances the science of medicine, but benefits people through real-world applications,” said Michael M.I. Abecassis, MD, MBA, dean of the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson.

Image

Dr. Gurtner joins the college from the Stanford School of Medicine, where he is currently the Johnson & Johnson Distinguished Professor of Surgery, co-director of the Hagey Laboratory for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine, professor of bioengineering, professor of materials science and engineering, executive director of the Stanford Advanced Wound Care Center and inaugural vice chair for Innovation in the Stanford Department of Surgery.

Dr. Gurtner graduated from Dartmouth College and earned his medical degree at the University of California, San Francisco. He completed his internship and surgical residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, followed by a plastic surgery residency at the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery at NYU Medical Center and a fellowship in oncologic microsurgery at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Dr. Gurtner is internationally recognized as a highly accomplished clinician and prolific researcher, author, inventor and entrepreneur. He has been awarded more than $27 million in federal research funding and holds 35 patents. He also has founded three venture capital-backed life sciences companies.

“Research that never gets into the real world has limited impact, and making an impact requires translating research into real-world applications,” Dr. Gurtner said. “I look forward to contributing to an academic department of surgery that is already providing outstanding clinical care and education and is poised to become an engine to accelerate progress in the field of surgery globally through innovations in patient care, early-stage clinical trials, cutting-edge translational research, and eventually, startup creation and commercialization. I am by nature a builder, and I can’t think of a better place to help build a transformative department of surgery than at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson.”

Dr. Gurtner has authored or co-authored 345 peer-reviewed articles and nearly 50 book chapters, and he has edited the two major textbooks in his field. He is the immediate past board president of the Wound Healing Society, the premier scientific organization focused on would healing.