Welcoming our new chief of surgical oncology

Alexander Parikh MD, MPH, FACS, FSSO, has joined the Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center as chief of surgical oncology in the Division of Surgical Oncology and Endocrine Surgery. Dr. Parikh is a professor of surgery and holds the Paige Johnson Distinguished Chair of Oncology and is the chair of the Mays Cancer Center Surgical Committee and cancer surgery sub-service line.

For the past three years, Dr. Parikh has worked at the East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine and ECU Health in Greenville, North Carolina. He has served as the Barnhill Distinguished Professor of Oncology in Surgery, chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology and director of hepatobiliary and pancreas surgery, as well as the vice-chair for diversity and inclusion.

His accomplishments at ECU Health included growing the clinical trials program, and expanding and initiating sub-specialization of surgical oncology, including establishing multidisciplinary programs in liver and pancreatic cancer, and developing a health disparities research program.

His responsibilities at the Mays Cancer Center are to grow surgical oncology services by adding more clinical staff, expanding expertise and increasing the number of patients served. He also will establish novel clinical programs and protocols, and grow the translational and health services research footprint, including multidisciplinary clinical trials. In addition, he will help strengthen the relationship and collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center and will play an important role in continuing to develop and plan the upcoming UT Health San Antonio Multidisciplinary and Research Hospital. Ultimately, his goal is to provide the highest quality, up-to-date and equitable cancer surgery care for the residents of San Antonio and for South Texas.

Dr. Parikh is a nationally recognized expert in the treatment of malignant diseases of the pancreas, liver and biliary systems. His research interests include disparities in cancer care and outcomes, particularly as it pertains to health insurance and social determinants of health, as well as comparative effectiveness research of multimodality regimens.

Dr. Parikh completed his undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, followed by earning his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He completed his residency training in general surgery at the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio, followed by a fellowship in surgical oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He also obtained a master in public health from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Connect with Dr. Parikh on Twitter @AlexParikhMD or LinkedIn



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