Dr. Rainer W. G. Gruessner Named Chair of Surgery at SUNY Downstate
Jul 17, 2017
Brooklyn, NY – Rainer W. G. Gruessner, MD, FACS, FICS, has been named chair of surgery and Clarence and Mary Dennis Professor of Surgery at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. The announcement was made by Carlos N. Pato, MD, dean of the College of Medicine at SUNY Downstate.
Dr. Gruessner is a nationally renowned surgeon and clinical innovator, a prolific
academic, a committed educator, and a successful and experienced department chair,
having most recently served as chair of surgery at the University of Arizona and later
as chief of transplantation at SUNY Upstate Medical University.
At SUNY Upstate, Dr. Gruessner doubled the transplant case volume, launched a successful
pancreas transplant program, and laid the foundation for islet and liver transplant
programs.
During his time at the University of Arizona, he more than doubled operating room
case volumes, while quadrupling volumes in his area of clinical expertise – pancreatic,
liver, bile-duct surgery and transplantation. Dr. Gruessner also opened two surgical
satellite clinics in the Southwest and introduced robotic and minimally invasive procedures
throughout all Department of Surgery subspecialties. Prior to Arizona, he served as
vice-chair and in a number of surgical and academic roles at the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Gruessner has a remarkable record of clinical accomplishments and surgical “firsts,”
which include the performance of or involvement in the first split pancreas transplant
(1988); first pancreas transplant after total pancreatectomy for chronic pancreatitis
(1988); first laparoscopic pancreas graft biopsy (1996); first standardized technique
for living donor intestinal transplants (1997); first preemptive living donor liver
transplant for oxalosis (1998); first laparoscopic living donor distal pancreatectomy
and nephrectomy (2000); and first robot-assisted total pancreatectomy with islet auto
transplant (2012). Dr. Gruessner was the first surgeon to perform all abdominal organ
transplants (kidney, pancreas, liver and intestine) from living donors.
He also is committed to diversity and achieved notable diversity thresholds in education while at Arizona, with 42% female, greater than 30% Hispanic, and the highest-in-the-nation number of Native American residents.
Dr. Gruessner’s academic accomplishments include more than 330 published manuscripts, and as many review articles, book chapters, and published abstracts. He has also edited three textbooks: the standard textbooks on Transplantation of the Pancreas and Living Donor Transplantation, and more recently serving as senior editor of a textbook on Technological Advances in Surgery, Trauma and Critical Care. He has served as principal investigator and co-investigator on over 20 research projects and clinical trials, supported by industry, foundations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). His academic focus and support of his faculty at Arizona led to a tripling of total departmental grant support, including a quadrupling of NIH support.
Dr. Gruessner received his medical degree from the School of Medicine, Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität, in Mainz, Germany. He completed his doctoral theses summa cum laude and received the German PhD equivalent (Habilitation) from the Philipps University, in Marburg, Germany. He received post-graduate training in Germany, Japan, and Minnesota.
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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.
UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.