Perpetuating the Legacy of Excellence of The Department of Surgery’s Past Chairman; Expanding Faculty

Stony Brook University School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery has announced a campaign to establish the John J. Ricotta Professorship in Surgery. Once funded, it will be the first endowed professorship for the Department of Surgery.

The decision to honor John J. Ricotta, MD, Professor Emeritus of Surgery, was based on his distinguished leadership during his tenure as Department Chairman from 1997 to 2008.

“During the course of his career, Dr. Ricotta has participated in the education of hundreds of medical students, surgical residents and vascular surgery fellows,” said Mark A. Talamini, MD, Professor and Chairman of Surgery. “In addition, he has recruited and helped mentor dozens of faculty members across multiple institutions. His involvement in the professional and personal development of physicians and surgeons remains the highlight of his academic career.”

As the leader of the Department of Surgery, Dr. Ricotta hired more than 50 full-time faculty members to build and expand the Department, including several current leaders who continue to distinguish the Department’s clinical and academic excellence:

Roberto Bergamaschi, MD, PhD, Chief, Colon and Rectal Surgery, and Leader, Stony Brook University Cancer Center’s Colorectal Oncology Team

Marvin L. Corman, MD, Editor, Corman’s Colon and Rectal Surgery, now in its 6th edition (“the gold standard in its discipline,” Journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA), and first Director of the Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship Program

Alexander B. Dagum, MD, Chief, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and Executive Vice Chair of Surgery

Allison J. McLarty, MD, Director, Ventricular Assist Device Program, and Associate Director, General Surgery Residency Program

Ghassan J. Samara, MD, Leader, Stony Brook Cancer Center’s Head and Neck, Thyroid Oncology Team

Steven Sandoval, MD, Medical Director, Suffolk County Volunteer Firefighters Burn Center at Stony Brook Medicine

David A. Schessel, MD, PhD, Chief, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

Marc J. Shapiro, MD, Director, Surgical Critical Care Fellowship Program

Richard J. Scriven, MD, Director, General Surgery Residency Program

Apostolos K. Tassiopoulos, MD, Chief, Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Director, Vascular Surgery Residency Program, and Director, Surgical Skills Center

James A. Vosswinkel, MD, Chief, Trauma, Emergency Surgery and Surgical Critical Care, and Medical Director, Stony Brook Trauma Center

Several of these physician-scientists are recognized as both national and international leaders in their fields.

About Dr. Ricotta, Dr. Tassiopoulos said, “John is a visionary in medical education. He was instrumental in Stony Brook becoming one of the first six institutions in the country to adopt an integrated five-year vascular surgery residency. This training paradigm is now the accepted practice nationwide.”

Dr. Ricotta has dedicated his professional career to the education and training of surgeons and to advancing the care of patients with vascular disease.

A native of Buffalo, NY, Dr. Ricotta was educated as an undergraduate at Yale University. He earned his medical degree and completed a surgical residency at Johns Hopkins University. Following his surgical residency, he completed a research fellowship in vascular surgery at Walter Reed, and was a registrar in thoracic surgery at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol, England.

Following his advanced training, Dr. Ricotta spent 20 years as a Professor of Surgery at SUNY-Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 1988, where he was Chief of Surgery at Millard Fillmore Hospital, founded the Department’s Division of Vascular Surgery and established a vascular surgery training program.

In 1997, Dr. Ricotta moved to Stony Brook University School of Medicine to serve as Chairman of the Department of Surgery, where he strengthened the Department’s clinical and academic performance and worked with faculty to revamp the Department’s educational programs.

As an academic surgeon, Dr. Ricotta has authored more than 250 articles and book chapters in all areas of vascular disease, and has lectured all over the world on all aspects of vascular care.

Currently, Dr. Ricotta is practicing as a vascular surgeon in Washington, DC, where he is Chairman Emeritus, Department of Surgery at Washington Hospital Center, and Professor of Surgery at both Georgetown University and George Washington University. In addition, he is a senior director of the American Board of Surgery.

Dr. Ricotta has also served as President of the Western New York Vascular Society, the Eastern Vascular Society and the Society of Clinical Vascular Surgery; as Secretary of the Society for Vascular Surgery; and as Chairman of the Vascular Surgery Board of the American Board of Surgery.

For more information and/or to make a donation (fully tax deductible), please call Ann Boyd-Stewart, Assistant Vice President, Medical Advancement, at (631) 444-1091, or email her.