Press Releases
The Society of Black Academic Surgeons Celebrates Historic AAS Elections
The Society of Black Academic Surgeons is very pleased to announce that at the 2023 Academic Surgical Congress, Dr. Callisia Clarke was elected the first Black woman President-Elect in the history of the Association for Academic Surgery (AAS), and Dr. Fabian Johnston was elected the first Black president of the AAS in 15 years.
Congratulations to them on their historic accomplishments and to the other elected officers for AAS and the Society of University Surgeons (SUS), including SBAS member Dr. Shaun Kunisaki (SUS Councilor-at-Large).
Dr. Fabian Johnston – 2023 AAS President
Dr. Fabian Johnston is an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at Johns Hopkins University and serves as the Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery and the Chief of the Division of GI Surgical Oncology.
His clinical and research work focuses on providing more effective care for vulnerable oncology patients and families, while simultaneously leading improvement of health care quality, costs, experiences, and outcomes.
Dr. Johnston has received highly coveted R01 funding for his research from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
Dr. Callisia Clarke – 2023 AAS President Elect
Dr. Callisia Clarke completed her medical degree at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honors Society. She completed a general surgery residency at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2013 and a fellowship in Complex General Surgical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2016.
Dr. Clarke joined the faculty at the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2016 and is now an Associate Professor of Surgery in the Division of Surgical Oncology. Her research efforts are centered on epigenetic regulation of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in academic surgery.