David W. Mercer, M.D., a Houston surgeon with Midwest ties, has been named chairman of the University of Nebraska Medical Center Department of Surgery.
The appointment, which was announced today by John Gollan, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the UNMC College of Medicine, is effective August 1, pending approval of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.
“We are thrilled that Dr. Mercer will be joining our staff,” Dr. Gollan said. “David brings an array of talent. He is an outstanding leader, who has received national recognition for his research and as an innovator in education. He also is an excellent general surgeon who specializes in gastrointestinal surgery. I am confident that David will do a spectacular job of leading the department of surgery into national prominence.”
Dr. Mercer succeeds Byers W. Shaw, Jr., M.D., who headed the department of surgery for the past 12 years before stepping down last year to become medical director of the Advanced Computer Applications Project (ACAP). The ACAP is a joint venture between UNMC, and its physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center. The ACAP aims to implement electronic documentation tools to improve patient care and research.
Trained in gastrointestinal surgery and trauma and critical care, Dr. Mercer is professor and vice chairman of surgery for the University of Texas Medical School at Houston (UTMSH). In 2007, he was named the Jack H. Mayfield Chair in Surgery and chief of the division of acute care surgery. He has been at UTMSH since 1993.
“I am honored and delighted to be appointed to this very prestigious position,” Dr. Mercer said. “It is a privilege to follow in the footsteps of the two previous chairmen – Dr. (Layton) Rikkers and Dr. Shaw, who are extremely well respected in the surgery field.
“I hope to build on the strengths of the department and continue to move it forward by enhancing our research, improving our NIH rankings and strengthening our educational programs.”
Dr. Rikkers was chairman of surgery at UNMC for the 12 years prior to Dr. Shaw. Since leaving UNMC in 1996, he has held the same post at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Mercer’s Midwest ties also pertain to Wisconsin, as he earned both his undergraduate (1982) and medical degrees (1986) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“I consider myself to be a Midwestern guy,” Dr. Mercer said. “I have to admit I didn’t know much about Omaha (before the interview process). But having been there three times, I have been extremely impressed by the city, the university and the surgery program.”
Following medical school, Dr. Mercer did his internship and surgical residency at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. After completing his training, Dr. Mercer joined UTMSH as an assistant professor. He was elevated to associate professor in 1997 and to professor and vice chairman of surgery in 2003.
Research has always been a priority for Dr. Mercer, 48. He has been funded continuously for the past 12 years and had received more than $10 million in total support from the National Institutes of Health.
He currently is principal investigator on two active grants, including a $10.4 million Trauma Research Center Grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences looking at the role of the gut in the pathogenesis of multiple organ failure.
He also is involved in three mentoring grants designed to build research careers for junior faculty.
“Research is vital,” Dr. Mercer said. “We can’t continue to practice the medicine of yesterday. Someone has to engage in the development of new knowledge. Research is an investment in the future.
“I hope to start working on the research enterprise right away and want to set up some core laboratories and create an environment for junior faculty to allow them to get career development awards.”
Dr. Mercer noted that UTMSH is one of only 12 institutions in the country to receive a Trauma Research Center Grant. He would like to see UNMC pursue a similar grant.
There are eight medical schools in Texas, Dr. Mercer said, including three in Houston. He said UTMSH is probably the second largest medical school in the state behind University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
As chairman of the department of surgery, Dr. Mercer will oversee a staff of about 60 surgeons. He plans to continue to practice as a trauma and general surgeon and hopes to maintain a private practice, performing surgeries at The Nebraska Medical Center and the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System. His surgical specialties include colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and ulcer disease.
Active in numerous surgical organizations, Dr. Mercer was president of the Society of University Surgeons, the most prestigious academic surgical organization in the country, in 2005. He currently is a member of the V.A. Merit Review Board.
Among his teaching awards, Dr. Mercer was named Physician of the Year for LBJ General Hospital in 2005, and he has received multiple teaching awards from residents and students as well as the Dean’s Excellence Award for Teaching.
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through their commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources now exceeds $82 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 2,600 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 513 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.