The Visiting Professor of Surgery Endowment Fund was established by Dr. Ronald G. Latimer and Sansum Clinic. This unique educational program advances the level of surgical care available in our community, and is made possible by generous support from our Title Sponsor, Cottage Health System, and grateful patients, medical groups, individual community surgeons and physicians, and corporate donors.
The endowment fund provides monies generated from its investments to underwrite the expenses to host an outstanding national and/or international icon for one week each year. The selection committee for Surgical Academic Week is represented by the general surgeons at Sansum Clinic and the two full time directors of surgical education at Cottage Hospital.
In 2012 Sansum Clinic announced its first Visiting Professor, John L. Cameron, MD from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The Santa Barbara News-Press called the Surgical Academic Week (February 26 - March 3, 2012) “Operation Education”. For five days Dr. Cameron interacted, taught and mentored practicing community surgeons and directly taught the general surgery residents training at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
“There is no bigger name in general surgery than Dr. John Cameron,” stated Dr. Jeffrey Gauvin, director of surgical education at Cottage Hospital. “This is like getting a famous movie star as far as surgery goes.” Dr. Cameron has operated on more patients with pancreatic cancer, and performed more “Whipple” operations than any other surgeon in the world.
"The Visiting Professor of Surgery program has been a tremendous success. We have been fortunate to have had outstanding surgeons, all leaders in their field. The program benefits the surgical residents, surgical staff and our patients. The lecture for the public and our donors has also been well received. The value to the community, to Cottage Health and to Sansum Clinic is priceless. Thanks to Dr. Ron Latimer, the program will continue to be a success.” – James T. Dunn, MD, FACS, Sansum Clinic Department of Surgery
Visiting Professors of Surgery
2012 – John L. Cameron, MD (Johns Hopkins)
2013 – Hiram C. Polk, Jr., MD (University of Louisville)
2014 – Julie Ann Freischlag, MD (UC Davis School of Medicine)
2015 – Keith D. Lillemoe, MD (Massachusetts General Hospital)
2016 – Michael G. Sarr, MD (Mayo Clinic)
2017 – Barbara Lee Bass, MD, FACS (Houston Methodist Hospital)
2018 – Professor O. James Garden (University of Edinburgh)
2019 – David V. Feliciano, MD (University of Maryland Medical Center)
2020 – Program cancelled due to Global Pandemic
2021 – Deanna J. Attai, MD, FACS (David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA)
Wen T. Shen, MD, MA (University of California, San Francisco)
Jennifer Suzanne Davids, MD (University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center)
Alfredo M. Carbonell, II, DO, FACS, FACOS (UCS School of Medicine Greenville, SC)
2023 – Fabrizio Michelassi, MD, FACS (Weill Cornell Medicine)
If you would like to support the Visiting Professor of Surgery program please contact Dru A. Hartley, Director of Philanthropy at Sansum Clinic at (805) 681-7726 or dhartley@sansumclinic.org.
Your support is a commitment to sustaining Santa Barbara’s high level of surgical expertise and the community’s good health.
