Press Releases
SBAS Welcomes New Executive Director, Dr. Edward M. Barksdale, Jr.
Congratulations to Dr. Edward M. Barksdale, Jr. MD FACS, FAAP who will serve as the new Executive Director for the Society of Black Academic Surgeons! Dr. Barksdale is no stranger to leadership in SBAS with tremendous contributions including the creation the SBAS Leadership Academy (1996) that has actively supported the development of some of America’s top minority surgeons, and outstanding service as our 19th President from 2013–2014.
Dr. Barksdale is the Robert J. Izant, Jr. MD Professor and Surgeon-in-Chief at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital/University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. An All-American Athlete and honors graduate of Yale University, Dr. Barksdale received his medical degree from Harvard University. He completed a residency in General Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and fellowship training in Pediatric Surgery at Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dr. Barksdale currently works at the nexus of academia, clinical surgery, medical education, public health, and social justice as a passionate advocate for child health and healthcare. He remains very clinically active as a surgeon and was named as an Inaugural Member of the Master Clinicians at University Hospitals (2018). He has also excelled in medical education and mentorship of medical students, surgical trainees as well as career surgeons.
Dr. Barksdale will serve as the 3rd Executive Director in our history, and we look forward to his excellent leadership, guidance, and vision in this new era of SBAS leadership.