Illustrative Handbook of General Surgery

Dr Herbert Chen, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA

Chair, Department of Surgery, Professor of Surgery, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Professor of Pediatrics, Fay Fletcher Kerner Endowed Chair

Surgeon-in-Chief, UAB Hospital and Health System

Senior Associate Dean, University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine

Areas of Interest

thyroid and parathyroid surgery, minimally invasive radioguided parathyroidectomy, adrenal surgery, endocrine surgery, neuroendocrine cancer biology

Dr. Herbert Chen obtained his BS from Stanford University with Honors and with Distinction in 1988 and graduated from Duke University School of Medicine Alpha Omega Alpha in 1992. Dr. Chen then completed a general surgery residency followed by a surgical oncology and endocrinology fellowship at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Dr. Chen is Chair of the Department of Surgery at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), the Surgeon-in-Chief of UAB Hospital and Health System, and the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine. He is a Professor of Surgery, Pediatrics, and Biomedical Engineering, and holds the Fay Fletcher Kerner Endowed Chair. His clinical interests include endocrine surgery and he is a pioneer in radioguided parathyroid surgery. Dr. Chen's lab studies thyroid and neuroendocrine cancers and has been received over $36 million in extramural funding. He is the American Cancer Society MEN2 Thyroid Cancer Professor. Dr. Chen is the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Surgery. He has held several leadership positions in major academic societies including President of the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons Foundation, President of Association for Academic Surgery, President of the Society of Clinical Surgery, President of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (AAES), President of Surgical Biology Club II, and President of the AAES Foundation. Dr. Chen has mentored over 130 faculty, post-doctoral fellows, residents, medical students, and undergraduates in his lab. He has published over 670 original research and review articles and has edited 28 textbooks. He is well-known for his passion for teaching and mentoring the next generation of surgical leaders. Dr. Chen has also been recognized as a champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Brenessa Lindeman, MD, MEHP, is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Surgery and Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. A native of eastern Kentucky, she completed her undergraduate training summa cum laude at the University of Louisville and graduated Alpha Omega Alpha as the Founder's Medalist at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 2009. She completed residency training in General Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she served as an Administrative Chief Resident, and completed a fellowship in Endocrine Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School. At UAB, she also serves as the Section Chief and Fellowship Director for Endocrine Surgery and Co-Director of the Multi-Disciplinary Endocrine Tumor Clinic.

Dr. Lindeman earned a Masters of Education in the Health Professions from Johns Hopkins University and completed Surgical Education Research Fellowships with the Association for Surgical Education and Massachusetts General Hospital. She served as a member of Drafting Panels for EPAs with the AAMC Core EPAs for Entering Residency, the American Board of Surgery, and American Association of Endocrine Surgeons. She is a Councilor for the American Board of Surgery, Director of the General Surgery Board, and Member of the American College of Surgeons Academy of Master Surgeon Educators. She is a member of the Editorial Board for Academic Medicine and Associate Editor for Education at American Journal of Surgery. Her research interests are in development and assessment of competency in surgical trainees and evaluation of the learning climate/physician wellbeing.