Edward M. Copeland, M.D., a Distinguished Professor of Surgery in the UF College of Medicine and a previous chair of the department of surgery, was named an honorary fellow of the Southern Surgical Association at the organization’s 2013 annual meeting.
James O’Neill, M.D., former council chairman for the association and a professor in the department of pediatric surgery at Vanderbilt University, nominated Copeland for the accolade. His nomination was unanimously approved.
“Honorary fellowship is conferred on fellows of the association who have served the association with special distinction and who have been recognized for their contributions not only to the association, but to American surgery,” O’Neill explained. “The other person named this year was J. Alex. Haller, who pioneered pediatric trauma care in our country. Dr. Copeland has an enviable list of accomplishments and contributions to American surgery, not just in oncology, but in surgical education, research and national surgical leadership.”
George Sarosi, M.D., an associate professor and the Robert H. Hux Professor in the department’s division of general surgery, and Kfir Ben-David, M.D., an assistant professor of general surgery and the director of bariatric surgery, spoke at the association’s annual meeting about esophageal perforations. David Kays, M.D., chief of the department’s division of pediatric surgery and an associate professor, made a presentation about congenital diaphragmatic hernia.