SPEAKER BIOS
Callisia Clarke, MD, MS, FACS, FSSO
Dr. Callisia Clarke completed her medical degree at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honors Society. She then completed a general surgery residency at the same institution and a fellowship in Complex General Surgical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Clarke joined the faculty at the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2016 and is now an Associate Professor of Surgery, the Douglas B Evans Endowed Chair for Surgical research and Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology. Her research efforts are centered on epigenetic regulation of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Academic Surgery. Dr. Clarke is the immediate Past President of the Association for Academic Surgery, the first Black Woman to hold this office. She was appointed to the National Cancer Advisory Board in 2024 by President Biden, the board is charged with advising the NCI Director and Secretary of Health and Human services on the activities of the National Cancer Program. Dr. Clarke holds several other prominent leadership positions in national organizations including the Society of Surgical Oncology, the American Board of Surgery, and the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society.
Åsmund Avdem Fretland MD PhD
Dr. Åsmund Avdem Fretland is a consultant hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) surgeon at Oslo University Hospital, Norway, with a primary focus on minimally invasive and image-guided treatment of liver tumors. Born in Oslo and raised on a small farm in Lærdal in Western Norway, he completed his early surgical training at Hamar General Hospital and his specialist training at Oslo University Hospital, including a fellowship in HPB surgery.
He trained in minimally invasive HPB surgery under Professor Bjørn Edwin and has been centrally involved in advancing laparoscopic liver surgery in Europe. Dr. Fretland was a principal investigator of the landmark OSLO-COMET randomized controlled trial comparing laparoscopic and open liver resection for colorectal liver metastases.
His current research focuses on optimizing patient selection and treatment strategies across surgical and interventional modalities. Most recently, he has led the NEW-COMET randomized trial comparing thermal ablation and surgical resection for colorectal liver metastases, reflecting a broader interest in hybrid treatment models and multidisciplinary collaboration between surgery and interventional oncology.
Dr. Fretland is actively involved in both the European-African Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (E-AHPBA) and the International HPB Association (IHPBA), and currently serves as Chair of the Scientific Committee for the E-AHPBA Congress in Hamburg 2027. He is active on social media at @aafretland.
Dr. Åsmund A. Fretland is a consultant HPB surgeon at Oslo University Hospital specializing in minimally invasive and image-guided liver tumor treatment. He has led randomized trials comparing open vs laparoscopic surgery, and surgery vs ablation for colorectal liver metastases . He is Chair of the Scientific Committee for E-AHPBA 2027.
Zara Cooper, MD, MSc, FACS
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Dr. Cooper is an acute care surgeon, trauma surgeon and surgical intensivist at Mass General Brigham, where she serves as Executive Vice Chair of Surgery, Kessler Director for the Center for Surgery and Public Health and founding director of the Center for Geriatric Surgery. She is co-director of the West Health Accelerator at MGB overseeing implementation and evaluation of clinical processes to improve care for older adults across 9 MGB hospitals. She is the inaugural Michele and Howard Kessler Distinguished Chair in Surgery and Public Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Cooper is an internationally recognized federally funded health services researcher, with a focus on the intersection of surgery, geriatrics, and palliative care. She has authored over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts and lectures internationally on topics related to geriatric surgery, surgical palliative care, and equity in surgery and surgical care.
Antonino Spinelli,MD, PhD, FASCRS
Professor Antonino Spinelli is Director of the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Director of the General Surgery Residency Program, Full Professor of Surgery and Lead of the Surgical Innovation Committee at Humanitas University and Humanitas Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy.
He spent two years (2003–2005) at the Charité – University of Berlin, and, after completing his surgical training in Italy, subsequently obtained a PhD focused on enhanced recovery protocols in colorectal surgery. His academic and clinical career has been consistently dedicated to the development and implementation of innovative techniques in minimally invasive colorectal surgery, with a particular focus on colorectal cancer and complex inflammatory bowel disease surgery.
Professor Spinelli is Associate Editor of Diseases of the Colon & Rectum and Journal of Anus, Rectum & Colon, and previously served as Associate Editor of Colorectal Disease (2014–2023). He is also a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis and Coloproctology.
He has authored or co-authored more than 480 PubMed-indexed publications, with a cumulative impact factor exceeding 3400 (H-index: 68 Scopus; 78 Google Scholar).
Professor Spinelli served as President of the European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP, 2024–2025). He is Fellow of the European Surgical Association (F-ESA), Fellow of the European Board of Surgery (FEBS), and member of the International Organization for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IOIBD). He has received multiple international honorary fellowships, including the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons and the Dutch Society of Colorectal Surgery.
Tim Caulfield, BSc,LL.B.,LL.M.,CM,FRSC, FCAHS,
Timothy Caulfield is a Professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health, and Research Director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta. He was the Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy for over 20 years (2002 - 2023). His interdisciplinary research on topics like stem cells, genetics, research ethics, the public representations of science, and public health policy has allowed him to publish almost 400 academic articles. He has won numerous academic, science communication, and writing awards, and is a Member of the Order Canada and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He contributes frequently to the popular press and is the author of national bestsellers, including: The Cure for Everything: Untangling the Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness and Happiness (Penguin 2012); Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash (Penguin 2015), and Relax, Dammit!: A User’s Guide to the Age of Anxiety (Penguin Random House, 2020). His most recent book, a #1 national bestseller, is The Certainty Illusion: What You Don’t Know and Why It Matters (Penguin Random House, 2025). Caulfield is also the co-founder of the science engagement initiative #ScienceUpFirst and has written, hosted and produced documentaries, including the award-winning TV show, A User’s Guide to Cheating Death, which has been shown in over 60 countries, including streaming on Netflix in North America.
Shirin Towfigh, MD, FACS, FEBS-AWS
Dr. Shirin Towfigh is an internationally recognized hernia surgeon with more than 20 years in practice, specializing exclusively in complex and revisional hernia repair. She is the Founder and President of the Beverly Hills Hernia Center and serves as Voluntary Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Dr. Towfigh is Board-certified by the American Board of Surgery and was also bestowed an honorary certification in Abdominal Wall Surgery by the European Board of Surgery. Dr. Towfigh has built an international reputation for expertise in chronic post-herniorrhaphy pain, occult and female-specific groin hernias, mesh-related complications, and advanced minimally invasive and robotic techniques.
Over the course of her career, Dr. Towfigh has authored more than 50 high-impact peer-reviewed scientific articles, contributed book chapters in abdominal wall surgery, and delivered over 160 invited lectures and keynote presentations worldwide across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. She has served as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on more than 30 clinical research studies, spanning surgical infections, mesh technology, abdominal wall reconstruction, and postoperative pain management. She also holds ten patents aimed at advancing mesh design for inguinal hernias to reduce risk of chronic pain and injury in males and females.
A past Governor and Committee Chair of the American Hernia Society and an active leader within the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic
Surgeons, Dr. Towfigh has been deeply engaged in national surgical policy, education, and patient advocacy. She has served on the American Board of Surgery Hernia Consultants Committee and has been an examiner for board certification.
Her numerous honors include the 2025 SAGES Excellence in Community Surgery Award, the SAGES Recognition of Excellence Award, repeated designation as a
Castle Connolly Top Doctor, and multiple teaching awards throughout her academic career.
Through her scholarship, innovation, and global leadership, Dr. Towfigh continues to shape the modern field of hernia surgery, advancing both its technicalstandards and its commitment to patient-centered care. She hosts the HerniaTalk LIVE podcast, aimed at educating patients, and has her own onlineeducational Master Course on Groin and Pelvic Hernias. Lastly, she helps fund scholarships and research aimed at improving hernia care, especially among females, through her philanthropic Beverly Hills Hernia Foundation.
Michael Mwachiro,MBChB, MPH, FACS, FCS(ECSA)
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Dr. Michael Mwachiro is the President of the Surgical Society of Kenya and Chair of the Education and Research committee for the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA). He is a Consultant General Surgeon and Interventional Endoscopist based at Avenue HealthCare in Nairobi, Kenya. He is a founder member of the African Esophageal Cancer Consortium (AfrECC) and The AFrECC Foundation. He is currently a CO-PI of the Africa Connect Project on Esophageal Cancer. He is an alumnus of the African Cancer Leaders Institute (ACLI) and the FOGARTY UCSF Glocal Fellowship program. His research interests are focused on surgical education and Gastrointestinal malignancies with an emphasis on esophageal cancer. He carried out the first screening study for esophageal cancer in Africa using Lugol’s Chromoendoscopy in collaboration with the US National Cancer Institute and Tenwek Hospital in Bomet, Kenya. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and an Associate Member of the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators as well as a COSECSA master trainer. He is engaged in endoscopy training in both basic and advanced techniques in the region. Dr Mwachiro has published widely on esophageal cancer palliation, early detection and treatment and is also an author of a book – Reflections on Mentorship. He is the Deputy editor of the East and Central African Journal of Surgery, Assistant editor for the Annals of African Surgery, International editorial board member for Gastrointestinal endoscopy, Editorial board member for SURGERY Journal, Associate Editor Diseases of the Esophagus and on the editorial team for the newly launched AORTIC Journal for Cancer Research. He is the course director of the COSECSA Health Education and Leadership Course (HEALS) and panel head of the COSECSA Surgical Endoscopy Fellowship.
Ken Milne MD, MSc, MBA, CCFP-EM, FCFP, FRRMS
Dr. Milne is a staff physician at the Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital in Strathroy, Ontario, Canada. He has been doing medical research for 41 years publishing on a variety of topics. Dr. Milne has been working clinically for 30 years and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine (Division of Emergency Medicine) and Department of Family Medicine at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. He has taught evidence-based medicine (EBM), clinical epidemiology, critical appraisal and biostatistics at Western University in London, Ontario. Dr. Milne is passionate about skepticism and critical thinking. He is the creator of the knowledge translation project, The Skeptics’ Guide to Emergency Medicine (TheSGEM). Dr. Milne completed his MBA at Ivey School of Business in 2025 and has started a DPhil (PhD) at Oxford University on artificial intelligence (AI) and EBM. Ken is married to Barb and has three amazing children.
Dr. Milne serves as a senior editor of Academic Emergency Medicine. He has no funding from the pharmaceutical or biomedical device industry. He is on faculty for the Center for Medical Education and EMRAP. Dr. Milne does partake in medical malpractice reviews and does hold a patent on a pediatric resuscitation device.
Melissa E. Hogg, MD MS
Melissa E. Hogg, MD MS, is the Executive Medical Director of Hospital Surgical Operations of Endeavor Health. In addition, she is the current Division Chief of GI and General Surgery at NorthShore University Hospital overseeing colorectal, MIS surgery, HPB/CGSO, trauma/acute care, and general surgery. She did her medical school and residency training at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL, and her surgical oncology fellowship and masters training in Medical Education and Clinical Research at the University of Pittsburgh, PA where she also had her first faculty appointment. She is Clinical Professor at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and Director of Advanced Robotic Training for the Grainger Center for Simulation and Innovation and HealthSystem.
Dr. Hogg’s clinical practice specializes in abdominal cancers and has a focus in minimally invasive gastrointestinal surgery and performs robotic hepatobiliary surgery. In addition, Dr. Hogg develops programs in patient-centered outcomes research, comparative effective and cost analysis in minimally invasive and cancer surgery. Additionally, she has developed medical education programs centered on a proficiency-based robotic curriculum for fellows, residents, and additional surgeons looking to acquire skills utilizing the robotic platform and techniques. Her work aims to link how technical training and surgical education can improve patient outcomes using proficiency-based curriculums and surgical coaching.
Aurora Pryor, MD, MBA, FACS, FASMBS
Dr. Pryor is the J Murray Beardsley Professor and Chair of Surgery at Brown University and Surgeon in Chief at Brown University Health. She grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan and received her undergrad degree in engineering and her MD from Duke University. She completed her residency in General Surgery at Duke, followed by a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery. She was on the faculty at Duke from 2003-2011. She held multiple leadership roles at Duke. She moved to New York in 2011, where she served as Vice Chair of Surgery, Chief of Bariatric, Foregut and Advanced GI Surgery and Director of the Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss Center at Stony Brook from 2011-2022. She was also director of the Advanced GI/MIS/Bariatric/Foregut fellowship at Stony Brook. She then served as Surgeon in Chief at Long Island Jewish Hospital and System Director for Bariatric Surgery at Northwell Health until joining the Brown faculty in August 2024.
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Dr. Pryor currently serves on the American Board of Surgery as the Chair of the General Surgery Board and as a Councilor. Dr. Pryor was the 2019-2020 President of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), with membership of more than 7,000 surgeons. She is the Immediate Past President of SAGES Ingenuity, which is the for-profit arm of SAGES focusing on innovation and managing a venture fund (SINC). She is an Associate Editor for Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, has served as Subject Editor for Surgical Endoscopy. She serves on the editorial boards of Annals of Surgery and the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. She serves on the board of the New England Medical Innovation Center in Rhode Island.
Dr. Pryor’s work has appeared in nearly 250 publications, and she has co-edited seven textbooks. She has given more than 300 presentations worldwide, has received a number of research grants and holds patents for several surgical technologies, including the Transenterix SPIDER single port system. Her current research efforts focus on advancing laparoscopic bariatric and GI surgery techniques and outcomes, and on new technology in surgery. Her clinical care focuses on individualized treatment options of patients with gastroesophageal diseases, obesity and hernia. She offers a range of laparoscopic, endoscopic and traditional surgical approaches. She has actively engaged in several FDA trials and offers the latest available treatment options to her patients.