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Dr. Bruce A. Perler and Dr. Mary E. Klingensmith Appointed Vice Presidents of ABS

Dec. 12, 2019 Media Contact: Alyson Maloney , 215-568-4000

• After a three-year process of review and revision of the organization's governance and function, the American Board of Surgery is pleased to announce that Bruce A. Perler, M.D., formerly the associate director for vascular surgery, and Mary E. Klingensmith, M.D., immediate past president of the Surgical Council on Resident Education (SCORE®) and past chair of the ABS, have been appointed to serve as vice presidents of the organization.
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  Dr. Perler joined the ABS in 2016, succeeding Dr. Robert Rhodes as associate executive director for vascular surgery. Dr. Perler is clinically active, and in addition to his ABS position, he is the Julius H. Jacobson II Professor of Surgery and vice chair for clinical operations and financial affairs at Johns Hopkins University, as well as director of the vascular noninvasive laboratory. He previously served for more than a decade as chief of the division of vascular surgery and endovascular therapy, and is the founder and past director of the vascular surgery training program.
• Dr. Perler has served as president of the Society for Vascular Surgery, Southern Association for Vascular Surgery, Eastern Vascular Society, and Chesapeake Vascular Society, and on the executive council of the Association of Program Directors in Vascular Surgery. He is co-editor of Rutherford's Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, 9th Edition and past senior editor of the Journal of Vascular Surgery. Dr. Perler is certified by the ABS in vascular surgery and previously in general surgery.
• As vice president of ABS, Dr. Perler's portfolio will primarily consist of vascular surgery-related issues and initiatives, with a small portion dedicated to the executive administrative duties of ABS.
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  Dr. Klingensmith first joined the ABS in 2011 when she was elected to the board of directors, representing the American College of Surgeons. She was later elected to serve as vice chair and chair of the board of directors in 2016 and 2017, respectively. During her tenure as board chair, Dr. Klingensmith oversaw the development and roll out of both the Continuous Certification Program and the pilot of competency-based education using EPAs, while also leading ABS through a strategic planning process, culminating in a new governance structure for the ABS.
• Dr. Klingensmith is clinically active and serves as the Mary Culver Distinguished Professor of Surgery and vice chair for education at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Formerly director of Washington University's general surgery residency program, she has a long-standing interest in graduate medical education and residency curricula, including the use of simulation and the teaching of ethics in residency education. She is the founding director of the Washington University School of Medicine’s Academy of Educators.
• Dr. Klingensmith has served as president of the Association for Surgical Education (ASE) and board member of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS). She currently serves as an associate editor for Annals of Surgery, and has been lead editor of five editions of The Washington Manual of Surgery. Dr. Klingensmith received the Philip J. Wolfson Outstanding Teacher Award from the ASE in 2005, and the Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in 2012.
• As part of the merger of ABS with SCORE, Dr. Klingensmith will serve as editor-in-chief of SCORE in addition to her role as vice president of ABS. In her role as vice president, Dr. Klingensmith's portfolio will primarily consist of SCORE, with a small portion dedicated to the executive administrative duties of ABS.