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Dr. Fabrizio Michelassi, an internationally recognized expert in the surgical treatment of gastrointestinal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease, has been named Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College and Surgeon-in-Chief at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Michelassi who will also be the Lewis Atterbury Stimson Professor of Surgery at Weill Medical College of Cornell University joins the Medical Center from the University of Chicago, where he was Professor and Vice Chairman of Surgery.

Dr. Michelassi, who comes to his new post with nearly 30 years of experience, is also an authority in the genetics of gastrointestinal cancer, and has developed a bowel-saving strictureplasty procedure for the treatment of Crohn's disease. At Weill Cornell, he will focus on maximizing all missions of the Department of Surgery by enhancing clinical care options for patients, disseminating medical education, and developing new knowledge through biological research.

We are delighted that Dr. Michelassi has joined our team. His surgical prowess, administrative expertise, research portfolio, and commitment to medical education make him highly qualified to lead our Department of Surgery, says Dr. Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., Dean of Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

Our goal is to provide every patient with the highest quality patient care, says Dr. Herbert Pardes, President and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr.Michelassi's leadership and vision will help ensure that each surgical patient receives state-of-the-art, comprehensive, and compassionate care.

The Department of Surgery at Weill Cornell has always played a significant role in innovative surgical treatment and research, says Dr. Michelassi. I am looking forward to working with the faculty of the Department, the leadership of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and Weill Cornell Medical College, and the rich academic medical environment here in New York. I am confident that together we will be able to provide effective and compassionate care, modern medical education, and innovative research in an environment of excellence and scholarship.

About Dr. Michelassi

Dr. Michelassi received his medical degree from the University of Pisa School of Medicine in Italy, summa cum laude, where he also completed a surgical internship and surgical residency. He then joined the general surgery residency program at New York University, from which he graduated in 1984 as surgical chief resident and instructor in surgery. From 1981 to 1983, he was a research fellow in surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dr. Michelassi joined the University of Chicago as Assistant Professor of Surgery from 1984 to 1990, then became Associate Professor of Surgery from 1990 to 1995, and Professor of Surgery from 1995 to present. He was named Chief of the Section of General Surgery in 1994, Vice Chairman of the Department in 2000, and Thomas D. Jones Professor in 2001. He also served as Director of the Center of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Surgery, Program Director of the General Surgery Residency Program, and as a member of the Executive Council of the University of Chicago Cancer Center. Additionally, Dr. Michelassi has held visiting professorships, which include the Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston); Medical College of Ohio (Toledo); Virginia Mason Clinic (Seattle); University of California, Davis-East Bay; University of Pisa; Case Western Reserve (Cleveland); Saint-Antoine Hospital (Paris); University of Milan; S. Raffaele Hospital (Italy); and New York University, among others.

Dr. Michelassi has received numerous awards and honors, including the Distinguished Leadership Award from the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America and the Silver Medal from the University of Bologna, among others. He holds, or has held, leadership positions with numerous professional organizations, including president of the Western Surgical Society, president-elect of the Central Surgical Association, past president of the Illinois Surgical Society, secretary and representative to the American Board of Surgery for the Society of Surgical Oncology, and trustee of the Society of Surgery of the Alimentary Tract. He is a member of numerous other professional organizations, including the American Surgical Association and the Society of University Surgeons, among others. His editorial appointments have included Contemporary Surgery, Hepatogastroenterology, Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, New Surgery, Research in Surgery, and Nature and New Gastroenterology. He is the author of nearly 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, more than 35 book chapters, seven instructional movies for surgeons, and editor of the book, Operative Strategies in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. He has also made numerous scientific presentations, posters, and invited lectures, both nationally and internationally.

Dr. Michelassi was born in Pisa, Italy. He is married to Dr. Caren Heller and has two children, Robert and Francesco. Dr. Michelassi enjoys skiing, gourmet food, and classical ballet.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital based in New York City is the largest not-for-profit, non-sectarian hospital in the country, with 2,369 beds. It provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory, and preventive care in all areas of medicine at five major centers: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian, The Allen Pavilion, and The Westchester Division. One of the largest and most comprehensive health-care institutions in the world, the Hospital is committed to excellence in patient care, research, education, and community service. It consistently ranks as one of the top hospitals in the country in U.S. News World Report's guide to America's Best Hospitals, in New York magazine's Best Doctors issue, in Solucient's top 15 major teaching hospitals, and in many other leading surveys. The Hospital has academic affiliations with two of the country's leading medical colleges: Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University and Columbia University College of Physicians Surgeons.

The NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System which includes acute-care and community hospitals, long-term care facilities, ambulatory sites, and specialty institutes is committed to providing high-quality, cost-effective, and conveniently accessible care to communities throughout the tri-state metropolitan region. The System serves one in four patients in the New York metropolitan area.

Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Founded in 1898, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, one of two major academic affiliates of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, has long ranked among the leading medical schools in the U.S. From the start, the Medical College has followed an educational philosophy that emphasizes the importance of combining a strong basic foundation in the medical sciences with extensive clinical training in patient care.

Weill Cornell physicians and scientists are engaged in both basic and clinical research in the cutting-edge areas of genetics and gene therapy, neuroscience, structural biology, cardiovascular medicine, AIDS, cancer, surgery, and psychiatry, among many others. Weill Cornell's biomedical investigators are delving ever deeper into the realms of cellular and molecular biology, which hold the secrets both to the normal functioning of the body and the malfunctions that lead to serious medical disorders.

In 2001, Cornell University established the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, becoming the first American university to establish a medical school branch outside the United States. With the same admissions and academic standards of the Medical College in New York, Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar will confer Cornell University's M.D. degree to its first graduating class in 2008.