Fabrizio Michelassi, M.D.

A prolific author of more than 200 papers, book chapters and abstracts, Dr. Michelassi has contributed new insight in the surgical treatment of pancreatic and colorectal cancers, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.  He has pioneered the development of important new techniques that ensure better outcomes and improved quality of life for patients with rectal cancer and ulcerative colitis.  These techniques have resulted in a greater percentage of patients avoiding permanent stomas and maintaining urological and sexual function.  Dr. Michelassi's recognized expertise in the surgical treatment of pancreatic cancer has led many patients to seek his counsel; in turn, Dr. Michelassi has contributed new knowledge to this field through controlled clinical trials.  His experience and expertise in treating Crohn’s disease led him to develop a novel bowel-sparing procedure now known as the Michelassi strictureplasty, designed to avoid sacrificing large amounts of bowel at the time of surgery and facilitating quiescence of the acute disease affecting the diseased intestinal loops.  Dr. Michelassi is now conducting studies to investigate whether quiescence of acute disease is associated with return of intestinal function in the affected intestine.  He has edited a book on operative strategies in inflammatory bowel disease and produced eleven instructional movies for surgeons on the surgical treatment of complications of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Internationally-renowned as an outstanding clinician, researcher and teacher, Dr. Michelassi has delivered sixteen prestigious named lectures and keynote addresses across the country and abroad, has been invited to be a visiting professor at 27 national and international institutions and has delivered more than 150 national and international presentations.  He is on the editorial board of seven prestigious professional journals including the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Surgery, The British Journal of Surgery, the World Journal of Gastroenterology, the Annals of Surgery, and the Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Dr. Michelassi serves as President of the Society of Surgical Oncology, and has served as President of the Illinois Surgical Society, the Western Surgical Society and the Central Surgical Association. A member of more than forty professional societies in the United States and abroad, he has also served as Vice-President of the International Society of Digestive Surgery. He is currently Secretary of the Society of Surgery of the Alimentary Tract.  He also serves as the representative from the American Surgical Association to the Advisory Council for General Surgery of the American College of Surgeons, and is a director of the American Board of Surgery. Dr. Michelassi has been appointed to many national and international medical panels and task forces.

A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Pisa School of Medicine, Italy, in 1975, Dr. Michelassi completed his internship and surgical residency at New York University and a research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University.  In 1984, he joined the faculty of the Department of Surgery at the University of Chicago, where he became Section Chief of General Surgery in 1994, tenured Professor in 1995, Vice Chair of the Surgery Department in 2000 and the Thomas D. Jones Professor of Surgery in 2001.  He also served as Director of the Surgical Oncology Fellowship from 1988 through 1995, Chairman of the Surgery Care Center since 1995 and Director of the General Surgery Residency Program since 1997.  In 2004, he moved to his current position at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Dr. Michelassi has earned numerous awards for his innovative contributions to advancing the treatment of digestive diseases, including the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Award, the American Cancer Society Cancer Development Award and the Distinguished Leadership Award from the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.  His research on Crohn’s disease has been funded by the International Organization of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and his research on the genetics of gastrointestinal cancer has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society. He has been repeatedly recognized by Castle Connolly, New York Magazine and Chicago Magazine as one of the "Best Doctors in America." He was named one of New York's “Super Doctors” in 2008 and 2009, an honor accorded to just 5 percent of all New York physicians.