New Faculty and Promotions



	New Faculty
	Rafael Alfonso-Christancho, MD, MSc, PhD., Research Assistant Professor, General Surgery/SORCE Dr. Alfonso graduated from Medical School from Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, his native country. He also holds a Master in Sciences in Pharmacoepidemiology from the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona in Spain and a PhD from the Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy Program (PORPP) at the University of Washington (UW). He is currently working as the Scientific Director of the Surgical Outcomes Research Center (SORCE) at the School of Medicine in UW in Seattle. Prior to joining the UW, Dr. Alfonso spent close to ten years developing several projects in Latin America in Clinical research, Patient Reported Outcomes, and Pharmacoepidemiology while working in Medical Departments of pharmaceutical companies. During the last couple of years, his research interests have been focused on three main areas: 1) Development of economic and disease models in chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, and endocrine tumors; 2) Comparative Effectiveness Research, particularly focused on surgical interventions and new methods to provide indirect comparison analysis of different interventions for specific conditions; and 3) Health Policies, specifically involving the assessment of biologics and biosimilars and the policy implications of the regulatory status in Latin America. He has been appointed as Advisor for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO-Bio PANDRH working group-2010) and has been invited to work on projects to advise governments, particularly in middle income countries, and private insurers in the development and improvement of Health Technology Assessment. Dr. Alfonso is an active member of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), was the first President of the ISPOR Chapter of Colombia, and Co-Chair of the first Latin American Conference in Cartagena in 2007. Currently, he is Chair of the Advisory Board for the Latin American Consortium (2012-2014) and also the Chair of the ISPOR Distance Learning & On-site Training Committee (2010-2012). Additionally, he is the Founder, Chairman, and Scientific Director of RANDOM Foundation, a non-profit organization in Colombia dedicated to promote and improve Clinical and Outcomes Research in Latin America.
	Farhood Farjah, MD, Assistant Professor, Cardiothoracic Surgery/SORCE >> Dr. Farjah is a thoracic surgeon and health services researcher. He holds an appointment at the University of Washington as an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the School of Medicine and an Associate Medical Director of the Surgical Outcomes Research Center. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Dr. Farjah completed his undergraduate training at the University of Oregon and his medical school training at Oregon Health and Sciences University. He then began his general surgery residency at the University of Washington Affiliated Hospitals. Dr. Farjah interrupted his clinical training to pursue a 3-year NIH funded post-doctoral fellowship in health services and outcomes research. His project evaluated the quality of lung cancer care in the US using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End-Results (SEER)-Medicare database. During this time, he also obtained a Masters of Public Health degree in Epidemiology from the University of Washington School of Public Health. Upon finishing his research fellowship and general surgery residency, Dr. Farjah completed a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Clinically, Dr. Farjah participates in all aspects of thoracic surgery including the diagnosis and management of benign and malignant pulmonary, pleural, esophageal, mediastinal, and chest wall diseases, and pulmonary transplantation. He has a strong interest in disease-based, multi-disciplinary management of lung and esophageal cancer and pleural mesothelioma, and the use of minimally invasive surgery and procedures—including video-assisted thoracoscopy (VATS), laparoscopy, robotic surgery, and endobronchial ultrasound. Dr. Farjah’s research interests include evaluating the effectiveness of lung cancer screening in the community at large, identifying optimal strategies for lung cancer staging, and developing patient-centered quality metrics for thoracic surgery. Dr. Farjah is a member of the American College of Surgeons, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, American College of Chest Physicians, and the Surgical Outcomes Club.
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	Alessandro Fichera, MD, Professor, General Surgery >> Dr. Fichera is a nationally-renowned, board-certified colorectal surgeon specializing in the latest surgical techniques and research. He spent the last 10 years at University of Chicago Medical Center, where he has been the Program Director for the Colon and Rectal Surgery Residency Training Program since 2008. Dr. Fichera will lead the UW Medicine initiative to further develop and expand the Colorectal Surgery Program. Dr. Fichera received his Doctorate with academic honors from the Catholic University of Rome, Italy and completed his internship and residency in general surgery at the 2nd University of Rome and the University of Chicago, followed by fellowship training in colorectal surgery at Mt. Sinai in New York. In addition to his surgical expertise in all types of colorectal disorders, Dr. Fichera has a strong interest in inflammatory bowel disease and pelvic floor disorders. Dr. Fichera’s research interests focus on inflammatory bowel disease, minimally invasive and robotic surgery, and the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancers through the management of a wide variety of digestive diseases. Dr. Fichera’s long term goals include the development of multidisciplinary programs for Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Rectal Cancer and Pelvic Floor Disorders. With the expansion of these key programs, he looks forward to the development of an ACGME-accredited Fellowship Program.
	Marcelo Hinojosa, MD, Acting Assistant Professor, General Surgery >> Dr. Marcelo Hinojosa joined the Division of General Surgery in August 2012 as an Acting Assistant Professor. Dr. Hinojosa’s clinical interests include advanced laparoscopy, bariatric surgery, minimally invasive foregut and solid organ surgery, and abdominal wall and inguinal hernia repair. His research interests include surgical outcomes, bariatric and metabolic surgery, and esophageal diseases. Dr. Hinojosa completed a Fellowship in Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery at the University of Washington Medical Center. Prior to that, he completed his Residency in General Surgery and a Research Fellowship in Gastrointestinal Surgery at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center. He received his medical degree from the University of California, Irvine College of Medicine in 2004.
	Kari Keys, MD, Assistant Professor, Plastic Surgery >> Dr. Kari Keys joined the Division of Plastic Surgery in August 2012 as an Assistant Professor. She practices at both Harborview Medical Center and Veterans Affairs Hospital. At Harborview, she provides reconstructive surgery options for conditions ranging from trauma to chronic wounds. She collaborates with surgeons from Urology, Orthopedics, Burn Surgery, Neurosurgery, and Trauma Surgery to provide comprehensive care and reconstructive solutions to complex problems. Dr. Keys’ clinical interests include reconstructive surgery of the face, extremities, and body after trauma, burns, or infection; surgical care of complex wounds; microsurgery. Her research interests include clinical and post-surgical outcomes, surgical training and education. Dr. Keys completed a Soroptimist Fellowship at Soroptimist International Sierra Pacific Region. She completed her Residency in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Washington Medical Center and received her medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco of Medicine in 2006.
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	Sara Kim, PhD, General Surgery/ISIS Research Professor, Adjunct/Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education Dr. Kim is the Director of Educational Innovations and Strategic Programs at the Institute for Simulation and Interprofessional Studies (ISIS). She also serves as the Associate Director of the Center for Medical Education that is newly instituted in the Dean’s Office, School of Medicine. She received her PhD in Education from the University of Washington in 1999. Prior to joining the University of Washington, Dr. Kim served as Associate Professor and Director of Instructional Design and Technology Unit between 2010 and 2012 at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, CA. Her role included implementing major educational technology initiatives to sustain the medical school curriculum and developing interactive elearning modules to support medical student and resident training. She also served as a mentor in the medical school’s Medical Education Fellowship. Between 2000 and 2010, Dr. Kim served as a faculty member in the School of Medicine, University of Washington. She was an education faculty in the Department of Family Medicine (2000-2006) and in the Department of Medical Education and Biomedical Informatics (2006-2010). In addition, she was the Education Director at ISIS with funded faculty responsibilities in the Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Department of Surgery. Her main faculty activities included mentoring junior clinician educators in scholarship and promotion, overseeing curriculum development and evaluation programs, and conducting collaborative research in medical education. Dr. Kim is the Vice Chair of the Curriculum Committee, ACS-AEI (American College of Surgeons-Accredited Educational Institutes), Chair of the Re-Accreditation Committee of the Society of Simulation in Healthcare (SSH), committee member of the SSH Accreditation Council as well as AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) RIME (Research in Medical Education). Dr. Kim has numerous peer-reviewed publications in leading medical education and surgery journals, covering topics of technology-facilitated educational interventions, faculty development and other teaching and learning practices.
	Jason Ko, MD, Assistant Professor, Plastic Surgery >> Dr. Jason Ko joined the Division of Plastic Surgery in August 2012 as an Assistant Professor and practices at Harborview Medical Center and at Northwest Hospital and Medical Center. At Harborview Medical Center, Dr. Ko focuses on hand and wrist surgery, brachial plexus and peripheral nerve surgery, Targeted Reinnervation surgery for upper and lower extremity amputees, lower extremity reconstruction and limb salvage, general plastic and reconstructive surgery, and microsurgery. He works closely with colleagues from Orthopaedic Surgery, General and Trauma Surgery, and Rehabilitation Medicine to provide comprehensive care for patients with complex reconstructive problems. At Northwest Hospital and Medical Center, Dr. Ko performs hand, wrist, and upper extremity surgery, in addition to general plastic and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Ko’s clinical interests includes hand, wrist, and upper extremity surgery; brachial plexus and peripheral nerve surgery; Targeted Reinnervation surgery for upper and lower extremity amputees; lower extremity reconstruction and limb salvage; microsurgery; minimally invasive surgery; abdominal wall reconstruction; complex reconstructive surgery; vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA). Dr. Ko is conducting research on Targeted Reinnervation and its effects on neuroma formation. He also collaborates with colleagues in the Departments of Bioengineering and Neurological Surgery to use biologic scaffolds and stem cells to improve peripheral nerve repair and regeneration. In addition, Dr. Ko is working with Drs. Mathes and Neligan to start a vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) program at the University of Washington that will make face, hand, and arm transplantation a clinical reality for patients in the Pacific Northwest. Dr. Ko received his undergraduate degree at Duke University in Durham, NC, after which he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in South Korea. Following his year in Korea, he obtained his medical degree at Duke University School of Medicine. He then completed his training in plastic and reconstructive surgery in the integrated residency program at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL, during which he was awarded the 2008 Plastic Surgery Foundation (PSF) Research Fellowship for his research on Targeted Reinnervation—a surgery that involves nerve transfers in upper extremity amputees that allows them to control a bionic arm—and its effects on neuroma formation. After his residency, he came to the University of Washington for a fellowship in Hand and Microvascular Surgery. He then spent some time at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan and the University of Tokyo in Japan to focus on microsurgery/supermicrosurgery, brachial plexus reconstruction, and peripheral nerve surgery, before joining the faculty at the University of Washington.
	Jason W. Smith, MD, Assistant Professor, Cardiothoracic Surgery >> Dr. Jason Smith is a cardiac surgeon holding an appointment as an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington Department of Surgery. Dr. Smith received his Medical Degree from Loyola University and Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois in 2002, where he also completed his general surgery and cardiac surgery training in 2011. Dr. Smith then went on to complete a Cardiothoracic Transplant and Mechanical Assist Device fellowship at Stanford University Medical Center in 2012. In addition to his interest in cardiac transplantation and mechanical heart assist devices, Dr. Smith has specific clinical interests in complex coronary revascularization and valve pathology. Dr. Smith has authored and co-authored papers and book chapters in with topics ranging from burn care to lung transplantation after cardiac death. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons, the American Burn Association, American Medical Association, the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, Pancreas Club, Society for Surgical Oncology, and the Society of Thoracic Surgery.
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Faculty Promotions

The Department of Surgery continues to have faculty worthy of promotion -- we are proud of the accompliments of this fine group. In 2012-2013 the following faculty were promoted:

Jeffrey Friedrich, MD Promoted to Associate Professor	Adam Goldin, MD Promoted to Associate Professor	Lisa McIntyre, MD Promoted to Associate Professor
Michael McMullan, MD Promoted to Associate Professor	Nahush Mokadam, MD Promoted to Associate Professor	James Park, MD Promoted to Associate Professor
Hakim Said, MD Promoted to Associate Professor	Thomas Varghese, MD Promoted to Associate Professor

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Modified November 2012 - MDH