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Global Surgery- Education and Training in Surgery Speakers
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Charles Balch, MD, PhD
Dr. Charles M. Balch has led a distinguished career as a clinical and academic surgical oncologist for the past 43 years, as a leading authority in both melanoma and breast cancer. He has also made significant contributions to laboratory research in tumor immunology and human T lymphocyte differentiation. He is author of over 780 publications, which have been cited over 27,000 times in the biomedical literature (an average of 64 citations per article, h-index of 79). He had held major leadership roles involving clinical research in three comprehensive cancer centers (UAB, MD Anderson and City of Hope). In past years, Dr. Balch has served as Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (2000-2005), and as President and CEO of the City of Hope National Medical Center (1996-2000). At the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, from 1985-1996, Dr. Balch served as Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, Vice President of Hospital and Clinics, and Head of the Division of Surgery, among other positions. Dr. Balch’s leadership roles have involved the Society of Surgical Oncology (as President in 1992), where he was the Founding Editor-in-Chief for the society’s peer-reviewed journal, the Annals of Surgical Oncology (now Emeritus Editor), the American Board of Surgery (Board of Directors), the Association of Academic Surgeons (President), The International Sentinel Node Society (President), the Commission on Cancer (Chair, Board of Directors) and the American Joint Committee on Cancer (Executive Committee).
Margaret Tarpley, MLS
Margaret Tarpley currently works in Gaborone, Botswana with the departments of medical education and surgery at the University of Botswana. She holds a position as Adjunct Instructor in Surgery, Department of Surgery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN and is affiliated faculty in the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH). She is an editorial and medical education consultant for a number of groups including Kijabe Hospital, Kenya, Kigali University Teaching Hospital, Rwanda, East and Central African Journal of Surgery, Annals of African Surgery, and the Rwanda Medical Journal. Tarpley has taught in basics of research workshops and courses in Kijabe, Kenya, Kigali, Rwanda, and Cape Town, RSA and has developed medical student curriculum for end-of-life issues and communicating bad news. Her research interests relate primarily to surgery education, global surgery as well as cultural and spiritual issues in medicine. A member of the International Surgical Society, Association of Women Surgeons, and Alliance for Surgery and Anesthesia Presence, she serves on the Africa Section Standing Committee of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).
Megan Vu, MD
After graduating from the University of Florida, Megan was inducted into the UF Hall of Fame and named Woman Leader of the Year for her work to preserve the Vietnamese language program during statewide cuts and for her advocacy in an international human trafficking case. She graduated from the University of Central Florida (UCF) College of Medicine with a U.S. Navy scholarship. She served as Executive Director of the global health organization MedPACt, helped establish the first student-run free clinic at UCF, and organized numerous global medical outreach trips to Jamaica, Peru, Vietnam, and the Dominican Republic. She completed her General Surgery internship at Naval Medical Center San Diego and is continuing her General Surgery residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX. She is the current Global Surgery Fellow at Baylor. She also founded the Association of Women Surgeons at both UCF and BCM. Last but not least, Megan is a 2nd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and can make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.