Latest Surgery News & Announcements

The Department of Surgery announces that Alan Dardik, MD, PhD, Chief of Surgery at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System and Professor of Surgery and Cellular and Molecular Physiology at Yale School of Medicine (YSM), will be stepping down from his Yale positions to pursue an exciting new leadership opportunity. Effective March 2025, Dr. Dardik will join the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai as Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Surgery and Co-Director of the Jacobson Aortic Center.

The Yale School of Medicine Department of Surgery is pleased to announce key leadership appointments within its residency training programs. Andrew Dhanasopon, MD, has been named Associate Program Director (APD) for the General Surgery Residency, effective Feb. 10.

Yale School of Medicine, the Department of Genetics, Yale New Haven Health, and the National Organization for Rare Disorders are hosting a Rare Disease Celebration on Friday, Feb. 21 from 1 – 5 p.m. at the Greenberg Conference Center.

Yale New Haven Hospital achieved a major medical milestone with the state’s first BATMAN (Basilica Technique with MitraClip for Anatomically Nonconforming) procedure, offering new hope for patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) and complex anatomical conditions. Led by Prashanth Vallabhajosyula, MD, and a multidisciplinary team of cardiologists, the innovative transcatheter approach combines the precision of the Basilica procedure with mitral valve implantation to address MR in patients at high surgical risk.

Sanjay Kulkarni, MD, and the Yale New Haven Transplantation Center’s living donor program are transforming lives through living kidney donations, which offer faster transplants, better outcomes, and longer-lasting organs. The story of David N., a Middlebury man with chronic kidney disease, highlights this impact. After years on dialysis and facing an eight-year wait for a donor, David’s life changed when Deborah Dooley, a childhood acquaintance, stepped forward to donate her kidney. Dr. Kulkarni emphasized the safety and benefits of living donations, made possible by minimally invasive procedures and quick recovery times, while calling for increased public awareness to address the organ donor shortage. Deborah’s selfless act underscores the profound difference living donors can make, giving recipients like David a renewed chance at life.

Yale medical student Jake Moscarelli has been selected to deliver an oral presentation at the prestigious American Association of Plastic Surgeons (AAPS) 103rd Annual Meeting on May 26. His project, “Dual Perfusion Superomedial Pedicle in Reduction Mammoplasty - A Prospective Intraoperative Radiographic Study,” is a collaboration with principal investigator Dr. Paris Butler. Chosen from over 1,054 submissions, with only 8% accepted for podium presentations, Jake’s work exemplifies innovation and excellence. Dr. Butler praised the achievement, calling it “extraordinary” and a testament to Jake’s talent and dedication.

Sara Pai, MD, PhD, has achieved FDA orphan drug designation for pembrolizumab to treat recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP), a rare and debilitating condition. This designation, based on an investigator-initiated clinical trial conducted by Dr. Pai at Massachusetts General Hospital, highlights significant clinical benefits, with 52% of treated patients showing marked improvement. Notably, this marks a rare instance of an investigator directly submitting the application to the FDA rather than the drug’s manufacturer. The designation is expected to enhance patient access and drive further research into this promising therapy.

Dr. Sajid Khan, Chief of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary & Mixed Tumors and Co-Director of Team Science at Yale School of Medicine, has been awarded a prestigious NIH-NCI R01 grant alongside Dr. Caroline Johnson, Associate Professor at Yale School of Public Health. Their study, “Role and Regulation of Asparagine in Colorectal Cancer,” explores how asparagine influences sex-specific differences in advanced colorectal cancer progression. The newly-funded project focuses on identifying biomarkers, understanding tumor growth mechanisms, and examining dietary and microbiota-derived asparagine.

The Yale School of Medicine (YSM) Department of Surgery has received a $1 million gift from Raj and Indra Nooyi to establish the Raj and Indra Nooyi Cancer Research Fund.