Immediate (October 17, 2006)

Jennifer Nachbur, UVM College of Medicine, 656-7875
Mike Noble, Fletcher Allen Health Care, 847-2886

BURLINGTON, Vt.-- John P. Fogarty, M.D., Interim Dean of the University of Vermont College of Medicine, and Melinda Estes, M.D., President and CEO of Fletcher Allen Health Care, have announced the appointment of David McFadden, M.D., F.A.C.S., as the Stanley S. Fieber Professor and Chair of Surgery at the College of Medicine and Physician Leader of Surgery at Fletcher Allen Health Care. McFadden is currently Professor and Chair of Surgery, Surgeon-in-Chief and Chief of General Surgery at West Virginia University. Frank Ittleman, M.D., Professor of Surgery, will continue to lead the department while McFadden and his family make the transition to Vermont in January 2007.

A general surgeon specializing in surgical oncology, McFadden is also a member of West Virginia University's Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center. He earned a medical degree from the University of Virginia and completed a surgical internship and residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, followed by a year as Assistant Chief of Service and Instructor in Surgery at Johns Hopkins. In 1987, he joined the faculty at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and then in 1992 moved to the University of California Los Angeles, where he was named Director of the General Surgery Residency Program and Chief of the Division of General Surgery. In 2000, McFadden joined West Virginia University to serve in his current role. He also held the position of Interim Chair of Orthopedics there from 2002-03.

McFadden, who has performed funded research in the areas of gastroenterology, endocrinology, oncology and pancreatic physiology for two decades, holds a 1996 patent for a method of inhibiting the growth of pancreatic tumors. He is the author of more than 210 articles in leading medical journals and has delivered nearly 100 national and international invited presentations on his work.

McFadden has been Co-Editor in Chief of the Journal of Surgical Research since 1997, and has been an active member of the Association for Academic Surgery since 1987, serving as its President and on the Board of Directors. Named one of America's Top Doctors four times, he is the recipient of two Outstanding Attending Awards at West Virginia, as well as the Dean's Award for Clinical Excellence. He has mentored medical students, residents and fellows, earning the UCLA Golden Scalpel Award for Excellence in Teaching three consecutive years.

McFadden will replace Steven Shackford, M.D., who stepped down as Chair of Surgery last May after 17 years of leadership. Shackford continues to serve as Professor of Surgery and is a practicing vascular surgeon at Fletcher Allen Health Care.