Illinois Medicine

M A R K G O N Z A LE Z , M D , P H D 24 | S U M M E R 2 0 1 7 a Mexican father and grandson of Eastern European immigrants, Gonzalez is trying to level the playing field for women and minorities in orthopaedics. The winner of the 2013 American Academy of Ortho- paedic Surgeons Diversity Award, Gonzalez recruits, mentors and motivates women and minorities to ensure that Illinois' orthopaedic resi- dent program reflects the diversity of the population they will serve. The orthopaedic curriculum, shaped by Alfonso Mejia, MD, also prepares residents to meet today's challenges through clinically relevant practice. On the health care delivery side, the department is on the verge of being the first in Chicago to perform a hand transplant. After completing the first U.S. face transplant at the Cleveland Clinic in 2008, Maria Siemionow, MD, joined departmental faculty four years ago. With only 120 hand transplants completed worldwide, the department has received approval from both the Institutional Review Board and the United Network for Organ Sharing for the hand transplant program. "Illinois will offer unique opportunities to patients who have lost their hands due to trauma or burn injuries," says Siemionow "After hand transplantation, patients will be able regain both the sensation and function of their hands, as well as the ability to return to work." Siemionow joins other notable orthopaedic faculty members and clinicians who bring unique skills to serve the community. For example, Mark Hutchinson, MD, is an educator in sports medicine who also served as a physician for Team USA at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The College of Medicine's vibrant orthopaedic practice also includes Melody Hrubes, MD, the physician for the dancers in the musical "Hamilton," and Terry Nicola, MD, MS, who is the medical director for distance running events in the Chicago area. In addition to clinical practice, the department is also focusing on innovation in research. Gonzalez, who is also a bioengineer, has been collaborating with many others across campus, including John S. Garvin Endowed Chair and head of the department of neurology and rehabilita- tion Jeffrey Loeb, MD, PhD, on the role of environment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The pair has found an intriguing relationship between environmental injuries and genetic forms of ALS. "We are working on a novel drug that targets inflammatory response that occurs in the central nervous system after injury outside the nervous system that we hope to get to patients soon," says Loeb. Surgery: A world leader in robotic education and clinical practice THE DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY IS TR ANSFORMING HOW it prepares future surgeons while building upon its international clinical reputation, particularly in robotic surgery. "We offer very innovative programs, some of which are the only ones in the nation or in the world," says Enrico Benedetti, MD, FACS, Warren H. Cole Chair in Surgery and department head. The department has transformed surgical training for medical students with a longitudinal series of surgical experiences over the four years of medical school that are designed to prepare students with real- life skills honed by simulation activities and detailed, up-to-date ana- tomical knowledge. "Those who show an interest in surgery are invited to participate in an early surgical training experience, the Surgical Educa- tion and Discovery Program (SEAD)," says Benedetti. "This is the first time this program has been done in the U.S." O R T H O P A E D I C S U R G E R Y J E F F RE Y L O E B , M D , P HD T E R R Y N I C O L A , MD, M S MEL O D Y H R U B E S , M D MARK HUTCHINSON, MD MARIA SIEMIONOW, MD ALFONSO MEJIA , MD

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