WVU Department of Surgery to host renowned former Army surgeon Dr. John B. Holcomb

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – John B. Holcomb, M.D., who served as a general surgeon in the Army during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, will discuss the development of the military trauma system and pre-hospital trauma care at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7 in the West Virginia University Health Sciences Center Okey Patteson Auditorium.

“We are very much looking forward to have Dr. Holcomb, whose leadership revolutionized care for our injured military members, here at WVU,” Alison Wilson, M.D., vice chair and Skewes Family Chair for Trauma in the WVU Department of Surgery and director of the WVU Healthcare Jon Michael Moore Trauma Center, said.

Dr. Holcomb joined the Army to pay for medical school. He received his medical degree from the University of Arkansas Medical School and completed his general surgery internship and residency at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas. He also completed a fellowship in surgical critical care at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. He served in the Army for 23 years before joining the University of Texas in 2008.

He currently holds several appointments at the University of Texas, including director of the Center for Translational Injury Research, chief of the Division of Acute Care Surgery, and professor and vice chair of the Department of Surgery.

Holcomb is widely known for his military leadership and research contributions and is in great demand for lectureship across the nation.

He is the author of more than 360 peer-reviewed publications and has been invited to speak both nationally and internationally. His current research interests focus on trauma, hemostasis and coagulopathy, and informatics. He is currently the principal investigator of the Clinical Coordinating Center for a U.S. Department of Defense and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-funded Phase III Pragmatic, Randomized Optimal Platelet and Plasma Ratios trial comparing ratios of blood products in massively bleeding trauma patients.

Holcomb is the Peter Mucha, Jr., M.D., Visiting Professor in the WVU School of Medicine Department of Surgery. A reception welcoming him to WVU will be held prior to his presentation at 4:30 p.m. in the Health Sciences Center Pylons Commons Area. He will deliver the Mucha Lecture, “Damage Control Resuscitation,” at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 8 in the Patteson Auditorium.

The professorship and lecture are named for Dr. Peter Mucha, Jr., who joined the WVU School of Medicine faculty as a professor of surgery and director of trauma in 1998. He established the Jon Michael Moore Trauma Center at Ruby Memorial Hospital and led its development into the first designated Level I Trauma Center in West Virginia.

“Trauma, Acute Care Surgery, and Critical Care Surgery have a proud history at WVU. Dr. Peter Mucha had a dedication and true passion for establishing a trauma system in the state of West Virginia,” Dr. Wilson said. “He held high regard and standards for resident education and research to ensure second-to-none trauma patient care for all healthcare providers.”

For more information on the WVU Department of Surgery, visit http://medicine.hsc.wvu.edu/surgery.

For more information on the Jon Michael Moore Trauma Center, visit http://wvuhealthcare.com/hospitals-and-facilities/jon-michael-moore-trauma-center/.