Surgery Gets New Chair

Michael Mulholland Photo: Kurt Parfitt

The U-M Medical School has appointed surgeon Michael Mulholland, M.D., Ph.D., to chair its Department of Surgery; his appointment, effective February 1, fills the vacancy left by the retirement of Lazar Greenfield, M.D. The Department includes the sections of General Surgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, Vascular Surgery and Oral Surgery.

“With expertise and ongoing accomplishments in education, research, and clinical care, Michael Mulholland is a true ‘triple threat,’” says Allen Lichter, M.D., dean of the Medical School. “He is well prepared to take his place in the line of great surgeons who have led the Department in the past.”

Mulholland has been a member of the Department of Surgery since 1988. He was associate chairman for research from 1993-97. Since 1997 he has been the section head for General Surgery and director of the General Surgery Residency Program. He was also associate chairman for education from 1997-2000. “Mike is a splendid surgeon, an excellent, well-funded researcher, and an outstanding departmental and institutional leader,” says Gilbert S. Omenn, M.D., Ph.D., U-M executive vice president for medical affairs and CEO of the U-M Health System.

Prior to joining the U-M, Mulholland was an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and Northwestern University Medical School. He completed post-graduate training in general surgery at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where he also received his Ph.D. in surgery.

Mulholland’s clinical interests focus on gastrointestinal surgery, including laparoscopic surgery and surgical endoscopy. Special interests include pancreaticobiliary disease, inflammatory bowel disease, gastric diseases and advanced laparoscopic surgery. Mulholland’s research interests include neurocrine control of digestive activity.

“The Surgery Department has a tradition of service to the Michigan community and its patients through its technical brilliance and innovation. I believe the Department can become recognized as the premier surgery department in the U.S., and I’m looking forward to being a part of this initiative,” Mulholland says.

Mulholland is the author of more than 100 articles, 50 chapters, and seven textbooks, and he is a co-editor of the textbook Surgery: Scientific Principles and Practice which has become the leading text in the field. He will become the senior editor for the next edition. Mulholland currently has four active clinical trials, all funded by NIH. He holds board certifications in surgery and critical care and as a medical examiner.

—Mary Beth Reilly