Social Determinants of Health in Surgery. A Primer for the Practicing Surgeon

Authors

Samilia Obeng-Gyasi Associate Professor of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, The Ohio State University, Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, United States. Samilia Obeng-Gyasi is Associate Professor of Surgery in the Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery at The Ohio State University, Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, United States Timothy M. Pawlik Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery, The Urban Meyer III and Shelley Meyer Chair for Cancer Research, Professor of Surgery, Oncology, and Health Services Management and Policy, Surgeon in Chief, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Pawlik received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Pawlik completed surgical training at the University of Michigan Hospital and spent two years at the Massachusetts General Hospital as a surgical oncology research fellow. He then went on for advanced training in surgical oncology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Dr. Pawlik's main clinical interests include alimentary tract surgery, with a special interest in hepatic, pancreatic and biliary diseases. Dr. Pawlik also has an interest in medical ethics and completed a fellowship in medical ethics at the Harvard School of Public Health, as well as a Masters in Theology from Harvard Divinity School in Boston. In addition, Dr. Pawlik was the recipient of a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) KL2 Research Scholar Award and received a PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Clinical Investigations. Dr. Pawlik also received his Executive MBA Program from The Ohio State University Fisher Business School.

Dr. Pawlik took his first faculty appointment at Johns Hopkins in 2005, where he was Professor of Surgery and Oncology, as well as the John L. Cameron Chair of Alimentary Tract Diseases and the Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology until 2016. Dr. Pawlik currently is the Chair of Surgery at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center where he holds The Urban Meyer III and Shelley Meyer Chair for Cancer Research. Under his leadership, the Department of Surgery has recruited over 75 new faculty members, is ranked #6 for NIH funding, and has a top 10 ranked surgical residency program. Dr. Pawlik also serves as the Treasurer / Secretary of The Ohio State University Practice Plan. Dr. Pawlik has given over 575 invited talks both nationally and internationally in 35 different countries. Dr. Pawlik has published over 1,600 articles and over 100 book chapters, in addition to editing 14 surgical textbooks. His research has been cited over 72,000 times with an H-index of 128 and an iCite weighted RCR of 2717. Dr. Pawlik serves on multiple editorial boards and is Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Deputy Editor of JAMA Surgery, as well as an Associate Editor for Annals of Surgical Oncology. Dr. Pawlik has served on the executive council of several of the premier surgical associations in the United States. Dr. Pawlik is a member of multiple surgical societies including the American Surgical Association, Society of Surgical Oncology, Society of Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, Halsted Society, and Society of Clinical Surgery. Dr. Pawlik is a past-President of the Association for Academic Surgery, past-President of the Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, as well as current co-President of the Surgical Biology II Club. Dr. Pawlik's international contributions have been recognized through his honorary memberships in the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Brazilian Society of Surgical Oncology, Mexican Association for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, Argentinian Hospital de Clinicas, Portugal Surgical Society, as well as the Society of General Surgeons of Per� and the Peruvian International Hepato-Pancreatobiliary Association. Dr. Pawlik is an Associate Member of the Academy of Master Educators in the ACS. Dr. Pawlik's research focuses on determinations of factors associated with prognosis and staging of gastrointestinal cancers, as well as the economics of cancer care. He also studies patient/physician communication and patient engagement, as well as social determinants of health related to surgery. Dr. Pawlik has consistently been recognized by Castle Connolly as one of America's "Top Docs.�