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The Board of Directors is comprised of up to 17 members who determine organizational policy and provide overall governance and oversight of Surgical Review Corporation (SRC). Members serve staggered, three-year terms, except for the position held by the chair of the ASMBS Corporate Council Steering Committee who serves one year. The Board meets at least twice per year.

	Walter Pories, M.D., FACS Chairman, Board of Directors Director, Metabolic Institute and Professor of Surgery, Biochemistry, Exercise and Sport Science Department of Surgery, Brody School of Medicine East Carolina University Greenville, North Carolina Dr. Pories is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and a member of SRC's Executive Committee. He is an experienced bariatric surgeon who serves as Professor of Surgery, Biochemistry, Sport and Exercise Science and Director of the Metabolic Institute at East Carolina University (ECU). Dr. Pories is also the Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded ECU National Center for the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery, as well as other research programs funded by the Johnson & Johnson Corporation and Golden LEAF Foundation. He received his medical degree with Honors and served his residency in General and Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Rochester. Dr. Pories is a past president of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and the North Carolina Medical Board. He is the recipient of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) Foundation’s 2007 Outstanding Achievement Award.

	Robin Blackstone, M.D., FACS Surgeon and Director, Scottsdale Bariatric Center Medical Director, Scottsdale Healthcare Bariatric Program Scottsdale, Arizona Dr. Blackstone is Director of the Scottsdale Bariatric Center and Medical Director of the Scottsdale Healthcare Bariatric Program. She serves on SRC’s Bariatric Surgery Review Committee. Dr. Blackstone received her medical degree in 1988 from the University of Texas at San Antonio and holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Arizona. She completed a General Surgery residency at the University of Colorado in 1993 with special interest in Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery and Surgical Oncology. Following her residency, Dr. Blackstone served as Director of Women's Health Services at Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, California. She returned to Arizona in 1996 and established a private practice in Scottsdale, specializing in Advanced Laparoscopic General Surgery and Surgical Oncology. From 1997 to 2000, she was Chairman of the Scottsdale Healthcare Cancer Committee, leading the team to achieve designation as a Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons and acting as Cancer Liaison to the American College of Surgeons. In partnership with Scottsdale Healthcare, Dr. Blackstone built a multidisciplinary comprehensive team that began offering weight loss surgery to patients in November 2001. She is a member of the ASMBS, SSAT and SAGES and serves as a consultant and proctor for Ethicon Endo-Surgery.

	Don Bradley, M.D., MHS-CL Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President for Healthcare Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Durham, North Carolina Dr. Bradley is Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President for Healthcare of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. He is a board certified family physician and a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He has faculty appointments at both Duke and UNC, where he continues to teach and collaborate on research projects. Dr. Bradley received his medical degree in 1976 from the Medical College of Virginia; completed a Family Practice residency at the Polyclinic Medical Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and a Kellogg Family Medicine Fellowship in Faculty Development at Duke-Watts Family Medicine Program. In 2002, he received a master’s degree in Health Sciences in Clinical Leadership from Duke University. He serves on the North Carolina State Health Coordinating Council, the Executive Committee of the National Medical Management Forum, and BCBS National Council of Physician Executives.

	Henry Buchwald, M.D., FACS Professor of Surgery University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota Dr. Buchwald has a dual appointment as Professor of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He received his medical degree from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Surgery from the University of Minnesota. An experience surgeon, his research interests include cholesterol/atherosclerosis, obesity surgery, implantable devices and hyperlipidemias. Dr. Buchwald has significant experience in the field of bariatric surgery and is a fellow and past president of numerous professional societies including the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity (IFSO) and Central Surgical Association. He has served as Governor of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and Director of the ACS Bariatric Surgery Primer Course and chairs the ACS National Faculty of Bariatric Surgery. Dr. Buchwald is an extensive author and serves on numerous editorial boards. He is the first author on metaanalysis of the bariatric world literature focusing on the effect of bariatric surgery on the comorbid conditions of diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and obstructive sleep apnea. He also wrote the ACS Bariatric Surgery Primer CD-ROM and ACS Guidelines for Bariatric Surgery Centers and was senior editor of a bariatric surgery textbook. In 2009, he will assume the Co-Editor-in-Chief position of Obesity Surgery. Dr. Buchwald founded and chairs the Obesity Coalition, an organization representing nearly every major U.S. group whose mission involves obesity management and research on a national level.

	Richard Morgan Downey, J.D. Executive Vice President The Obesity Society Silver Spring, Maryland Mr. Downey is an attorney and Executive Vice President of The Obesity Society, with 2,000 members committed to the study and research on the causes and treatment of obesity. He received his undergraduate degree from Fairfield University and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1971. Mr. Downey’s areas of expertise include obesity, public health, law, advocacy and association management. He previously served as Executive Director and CEO of the American Obesity Association and Director of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery’s Washington office. He is a member of the American Bar Association and District of Columbia Bar Association and a Fellow of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity.

	Jim Fivecoat Manager, Retirement Plans Michelin North America, Inc. Greenville, South Carolina Mr. Fivecoat has 30 years experience in Personnel, Organizational Development and Benefits for Michelin North America, Inc. In his current role as Manager, Retirement Plans, he manages retirement plans with over $4 billion in assets and monthly payments of over $14 million for Michelin’s more than 36,000 employees and retirees in the United States. He also is a member of Michelin’s Benefits Policy Investment Committees. Mr. Fivecoat has an MBA from Kent State University and has done extensive post-graduate work with the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. He is Chairman of the Board for the Obesity Action Coalition and a bariatric surgery patient who remains successful with his weight loss.

	Jennifer Gianos, R.N.F.A. Chair of Patient Needs Committee, ASMBS Assistant Director Florida Center for Surgical Weight Control Fort Lauderdale, Florida Ms. Gianos, RNFA, CNOR, is the Assistant Director of the Surgical Institute for Weight Control, Inc. She acts as a first assistant for Bariatric Surgery. She is an active member of the ASMBS being a member of the Allied Health Executive Council, Chairperson of the Patient Needs Committee, and a Faculty and Course Director. Ms. Gianos is an instructor for National Training Courses and her prior experience includes Clinical specialist in the OR and teaching peri-operative courses.

	Neil Hutcher, M.D., FACS Chairman-elect, Board of Directors Commonwealth Surgeons Richmond, Virginia Dr. Hutcher is the Chair-elect of the SRC Board of Directors and a member of the Executive Committee. He has served as the chairman of the Department of Surgery at St. Mary's Hospital and also as clinical associate professor of surgery at both the Medical College of Virginia and McGuire Veterans Administration Medical Center. He received his medical degree in 1965 from the Medical College of Virginia. Dr. Hutcher's clinical expertise is in bariatric surgery as well as general and laparoscopic surgery. His efforts have been directed toward education of the general public as well as legislative lobbying both on the federal and state level. Dr. Hutcher is senior past president of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

	Gary M. Pratt Chief Executive Officer Surgical Review Corporation Raleigh, North Carolina Mr. Pratt, the Chief Executive Officer of Surgical Review Corporation, graduated from the University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and accounting. Mr. Pratt has started several successful businesses and was a partner in a national accounting firm.

	Scott A. Shikora, M.D., FACS Professor of Surgery Tufts University School of Medicine Chief, Division of General Surgery Chief, Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery Tufts-New England Medical Center Dr. Shikora is Chief, Divisions of General Surgery and Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery at Tufts-New England Medical Center and Professor of Surgery at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Shikora is a member of SRC’s Bariatric Surgery Review Committee. His major research interests include parenteral and enteral nutrition, implantable gastric stimulation for weight loss and new surgical technologies. He received his medical degree in 1985 from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed a Surgical residency and Fellowship in Nutrition Support Service at Boston's New England Deaconess Hospital. Certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Nutrition, Dr. Shikora is president-elect of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, past president of the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and a member of the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons, American College of Surgeons and the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity. He serves as consultant on numerous industry advisory boards.

	Christopher Still, D.O. Director, Center for Nutrition and Weight Management Geisinger Health Care System Danville, Pennsylvania Dr. Still is the Director for the Center for Nutrition and Weight Management at Geisinger Health Care System and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Nutrition at Penn State. He holds a Master's degree in human nutrition from Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, and a D.O. in osteopathic medicine from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. His work includes research into genetic markers for obesity and diabetes; the metabolic differences among obese, formerly obese, and normal-weight men; metabolic and psychologic changes in bariatric surgery patients; non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in obese females and leptin level determination among elderly obese women. Dr. Still is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, the American Board of Nutrition and the American College of Nutrition, among many others. His interest in nutrition and weight management stems from his personal experiences with obesity and successful weight loss.

	Harvey Sugerman, M.D., FACS Chairman, Bariatric Surgery Review Committee Emeritus Professor Virginia Commonwealth University Sanibel, Florida Dr. Sugerman retired from clinical practice and is Emeritus Professor of Surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University. He joined Virginia Commonwealth University in 1978, where he was the David M. Hume Professor of Surgery and Chief of the General Surgery and Trauma Division. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University and the Jefferson University School of Medicine in 1966 and spent two years in the Army in Nuremberg, Germany and as Lieutenant Colonel at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Dr. Sugerman has published over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 20 books and 59 book chapters, many dealing with the improvement in obesity co-morbidity following surgically induced weight loss, as well as the first randomized trial comparing vertical banded gastroplasty to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. He is a past-president of the Western Trauma Association and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Currently he is Editor-in-Chief of Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases (SOARD), the official peer-reviewed journal of the ASMBS.

	Alan C. Wittgrove, M.D., FACS Medical Director Wittgrove Bariatric Center La Jolla, California Dr. Wittgrove is a member of SRC's Executive Committee and a laparoscopic bariatric surgeon in private practice. He is the Medical Director for the Wittgrove Bariatric Center in La Jolla, California. Dr. Wittgrove is a past president of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Wittgrove is the first surgeon to successfully perform laparoscopic bariatric surgery.


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