PHILADELPHIA (March 12, 2021)—Stephanie Greco, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Surgical Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, was recently named a new councilor for the Association for Academic Surgery (AAS).
“The focus of this organization is on career development and leadership within the medical community. It’s essentially to promote participation in academic surgery and leadership,” said Greco. “I’ve enjoyed participating in it and I think it’s a great organization to be part of.”
The AAS, founded in 1966, is a surgical organization that now has over 4,000 members. The group works to inspire and assist young academic surgeons from across all specialties by perpetuating the organization’s core values of scholarship, leadership, mentorship/sponsorship, innovation, inclusion, and community. According to the AAS, the group focuses on “promoting a shared vision of research and academic pursuits through the exchange of ideas between senior surgical residents, junior faculty and established academic surgical professors.”
Greco served as part of a subcommittee for AAS for several years before recently applying to become a councilor. When seeking to fulfill a councilor role, candidates apply to represent their class year. Greco finished her fellowship and became an attending member in 2019. As a newly appointed councilor, she will represent the class of 2019 for a two-year period.
“The role of the councilor is basically to participate in the executive council meeting and to help shape future directions of the organization across a wide range of leadership,” said Greco.
At Fox Chase, Greco’s work focuses on gastrointestinal surgery, skin and soft tissue tumors, appendix cancer, peritoneal mesothelioma, heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), and peritoneal disease. Her clinical research aims to understand the biology of cancer metastasis and dormancy, and the use of biomarkers for clinical trial development.
In addition to her role as councilor for AAS, Greco is also a member of the Association of Women Surgeons, the Society of Clinical Oncology, the American College of Surgeons, and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract.
“My goal is to increase my overall role in the organization. My hope is to be able to bring new ideas to the council and increase participation of younger members as well,” said Greco. “I’m excited to have a higher role of participation in the organization and to help shape the next two years of growth within the medical community.”