The last several months have seen several important developments. On the clinical front, the Heart Transplant and Advanced Heart Failure Program has grown nicely, our liver transplant numbers are up, and Dr. Joseph Lombardi's team implanted the first Cook Zenith® Dissection Endovascular System in the U.S. to treat an aortic dissection.

Jefferson is now the #1 hospital in the tri-state area as regards volumes of complex pancreatic resection. We recently formalized the Jefferson Pancreas, Biliary and Related Cancer Center and hosted a national PanCAN Symposium on April 5th. Lastly, Dr. Hwyda Arafat received the Department's second NIH grant for her research into nicotine and its role in pancreatic carcinogenesis!

On the national front, we were well represented at the 3rd Academic Surgical Congress with seven presentations, ranging from vascular surgery, to alimentary tract diseases, to cancer. At the Southern Surgical Association, Dr. John Kairys presented regarding a decrease in cumulative operative experience during General Surgery residency, and Dr. Jonathan Brody presented results indicating that metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells evade immune destruction through up-regulation of IDO.

Finally, we will welcome six unbelievably talented new categorical General Surgery residents this July. We did great in "the match."