SSO President: Sandra L. Wong, MD, MS, FSSO
Dr. Wong is the William N. and Bessie Allyn Professor of Surgery, Chair of the Department of Surgery at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, and Professor of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. She is a nationally recognized authority in the management of soft tissue sarcoma, melanoma, and Merkel Cell carcinoma. Her health services research program has been funded by National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the American Cancer Society. Dr. Wong has published over 270 manuscripts and book chapters and serves as a Deputy Editor of the Annals of Surgical Oncology as well as Associate Editor for Annals of Surgery and the World Journal of Surgery. She is passionate about the education and mentorship of surgeon-scientists and has been honored with numerous medical student and resident teaching awards. Dr. Wong is the Past President of the Society of University Surgeons and Society of Surgical Chairs.
SSO President-Elect: Kelly K. Hunt, MD, FSSO
Dr. Hunt is Professor and Chair of the Department of Breast Surgical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She holds the Olla Stribling Distinguished Chair for Cancer Research. She currently has joint appointments as a Professor in the Departments of Experimental Radiation Oncology and Surgical Oncology. Dr. Hunt’s work focuses on finding less invasive yet more effective surgical procedures for patients with breast cancer and soft-tissue sarcomas. Her translational research investigations focus on developing novel treatment strategies involving agents that target cell cycle deregulation. Dr. Hunt has to her credit more than 600 peer-reviewed publications, 58 book chapters and four books. As an international leader in breast cancer research, she has directed major clinical trials whose results have changed the standard of treatment for many patients with breast cancer. Dr. Hunt has served as the director of the American College of Surgeons Cancer Research Program, which is involved in cancer care delivery research, education and the development and implementation of cancer care standards. She is a member of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors for the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology.
Vice President: Russell S. Berman, MD, FSSO
Dr. Berman is a Professor of Surgery at New York University Grossman School of Medicine where he also is Vice Chair for Surgical Education and Faculty Affairs, Chief of Surgical Oncology, and Director of the Surgery Residency. Dr. Berman’s clinical practice focuses on Melanoma, Sarcoma, and Peritoneal Surface Malignancies. Dr. Berman has served the SSO in numerous capacities including six years as Chair of the Training Committee, Chair of the SCORE Committee and was elected to two terms on the SSO Executive Council. Dr. Berman also serves as Chair of the Complex General Surgical Oncology Board of the American Board of Surgery where he also is Chair of the ABS Nominating Committee and Recorder of the ABS Council. Additionally, Dr. Berman sits on the ABS Council Assessment Committee, the Quality and Oversight Task Force, the Video Based Assessment Task Force, the EPA Task Force and the Strategic Planning Task Force. Dr. Berman has been an Associate Editor for JNCI and also holds editorial board positions on Annals of Surgical Oncology, UpToDate, and the NCI Physicians Data Query. He was previously co-chief editor of the CGSO SCORE.
Treasurer: Ronald P. DeMatteo, MD, FSSO
Dr. DeMatteo is The John Rhea Barton Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. DeMatteo is a surgical oncologist who is nationally recognized for his expertise in treating diseases of the liver, bile duct, gallbladder, pancreas, abdominal sarcomas, and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). His clinical research is focused on liver, bile duct, gallbladder, and pancreas cancers. Over the course of his career, Dr. DeMatteo has made significant research advances studying the immune environment of the liver and tumor immunology and working to develop immune therapies to help prevent tumors from returning after surgery. He has served as the principal investigator on three national trials of the adjuvant drug imatinib following surgery to remove gastrointestinal stromal tumors, leading to its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a new standard of care for the disease. A well-respected educator, Dr. DeMatteo was Director of the Surgical Oncology Fellowship Program for seven years at MSKCC, and he has mentored more than 135 clinical and laboratory fellows.
Secretary: Kenneth K. Tanabe, MD, FSSO
Dr. Tanabe is a Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Co-Chief of the Division of Gastrointestinal and Oncologic Surgery and the ESSCO – Slater Family Chair in Surgical Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital. He also serves as the Deputy Clinical Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. Dr. Tanabe maintains a clinical practice in both complex HBP surgery and melanoma surgery. Dr. Tanabe’s translational research laboratory is focused on studies in HPB cancer including development of novel therapies, cancer prevention and modulation of tumor extracellular matrix. Dr. Tanabe’s research has been funded by NIH for most of his years on faculty at Harvard Medical School. He has served on multiple NIH study sections and DoD study sections. He has served as PI of a T32 Training Grant in Cancer Biology and has mentored many junior faculty to their first NIH grants. Dr. Tanabe is a specialty board member of the American Board of Surgery (Complex General Surgical Oncology). He serves on several editorial boards and as a Deputy Editor for Annals of Surgical Oncology.
