AATS Honors Thoracic Surgery Pioneer Dr. David Sugarbaker

May 13, 2019

The late Dr. David J. Sugarbaker, former professor and chief of Thoracic Surgery and director of the Lung Institute at Baylor College of Medicine, was honored at the annual American Association for Thoracic Surgery meeting held in Toronto. Dr. Sugarbaker was recognized for his years of dedication and service to the field of thoracic surgery and to the AATS organization.

Dr. Tirone David, professor of surgery at the University of Toronto, delivered the inaugural David J. Sugarbaker Memorial Lectureship appropriately titled, “The Pursuit of Excellence in Surgery,” which was a nod to Dr. Sugarbaker’s famous quote, "Clarity of purpose and focused attention are, indeed, the essence of excellence.” Dr. Scott Swanson, director of Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital, shared memories about his time training with Dr. Sugarbaker.

The inaugural lecture was followed by a recognition of the first David J. Sugarbaker Research Scholarship Recipient, Dr. Smita Sahag, thoracic surgeon and researcher at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, whose project was titled: “Quantification of Circulating Tumor DNA to Asses Disease Burden and Treatment Response in Resectable Esophageal Adenocarcinoma.”

Dr. David Adams, professor and system chair at Mount Sinai Health System, and the 99th president of the AATS, also honored Dr. Sugarbaker in his presidential address.

Dr. Sugarbaker was the 94^th president of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery and president of the AATS Foundation until his passing Aug. 29, 2018. The AATS Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the AATS dedicated to preparing the future generations of surgeons for excellence in the field.

Dr. Sugarbaker’s wife Linda and daughter Debbie attended the conference to honor his memory. Attendees were also Dr. Sugarbaker’s former colleagues, mentees, mentors, and trainees, including Dr. Bryan Burt, associate professor, interim chief of Thoracic Surgery and director of Thoracic Surgery Research at Baylor, and Dr. Shawn Groth, associate professor of surgery and director of esophageal surgical services at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center.