After growing up in Northern Wisconsin raised by a single mom and riding his snowmobile to school during harsh Winters, Dr. Scott Steele found his medical calling at West Point Academy and developed his passion for colorectal surgery over multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Join Alex, Avery, Biddy, and Jon for a special conversation with Dr. Scott Steele to hear more about his life and career journey.

OUR GUEST

Scott R. Steele, MD, MBA, FACS, FASCRS, FPSCRS (Hon) is the Rupert B. Turnbull MD Endowed Chair in Colorectal Surgery and Chairman of Colorectal Surgery at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, he was an active duty Army officer for over 20 years, serving as the Chief of Colorectal Surgery at Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, WA. He has served 4 combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, being awarded the Bronze Star and Combat Medical Badge, amongst others. He is on the editorial board for multiple national surgical journals including Annals of Surgery, Cochrane Collaboration, and had served as the Colon & Rectal Surgery Community Editor for the American College of Surgeons. He is also an Editor for Surgery, Co-Editor for Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, and the Editor-in-Chief for Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery. Additionally, he is a reviewer for over 30 peer-reviewed journals. He has also been appointed to the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery for the last several years, and currently serves as the President. His contributions to the medical literature include over 300 peer-reviewed articles, 110 invited reviews and book chapters, 30 national practice parameters, guest editor for 5 volumes dedicated to colorectal disease, and currently is an editor on 12 textbooks in colorectal surgery. He also received his MBA from Case Western University Weatherhead School of Business and Management in 2018, graduating with honors.

OUR CO-HOSTS

Alex Jenny Ky, MD, FACS, FASCRS New York, NY Dr. Ky has been in practice for 22 years and is one of the busiest surgeons in her hospital. She is a former president of the New York Colon and Rectal Society and currently serves as president-elect of the Chinese American Medical Society. Married for 29 years, she is the proud mom of 3 children and in her spare time she enjoys playing golf and squash.

Avery Walker, MD, FACS, FASCRS El Paso, TXAvery Walker is dually board-certified in General Surgery and Colorectal Surgery. He earned his medical degree at the University of Illinois in Chicago, his General Surgery residency at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington, and his Fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery at The Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans. A former active-duty officer in the United States Army, Dr. Walker served 13 years as a general and colorectal surgeon with his most recent duty station in El Paso, TX at William Beaumont Army Medical Center. While there he was the Chief of Colon and Rectal surgery as well as the Assistant Program Director for the general surgery residency program. He currently practices colon and rectal surgery at The Hospitals of Providence in El Paso, TX. Dr. Avery Walker is married and has two daughters aged 13 and 9.

Biddy Das, MD, FACS Houston, TXDr. Bidhan "Biddy" Das has board certifications for both colon and rectal surgery, and general surgery. His passion for medical education and medical process improvement has resulted in book chapters and publications, and national and regional presentations on those subjects. Highlighting his medical expertise on fecal incontinence, he has been featured on patient education videos and national and international television and radio as a featured expert on these colorectal conditions. Dr Das also has a particular interest in surgeons redefining their careers -- he serves as both a software consultant and private equity consultant in Boston, New York City, and Houston.

Jonathan Abelson, MD, MS Arlington, MADr. Abelson was born and raised in Scarsdale, New York in the suburbs of New York City. He has 2 older brothers and both of his parents are dentists. Dr. Abelson went to college at University Pennsylvania, took 2 years off between college and medical school to work in healthcare consulting. He then went to medical school at University of Virginia, returned to New York for general surgery residency at Weill Cornell on the upper east side of Manhattan. Dr. Abelson then did colorectal fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis and am now at Lahey clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts for my first job after training. He is 2 years into practice and has a wife and two sons. His wife works in wellness consulting and they have a dog named Foster who we adopted in St. Louis.