Surgery professor named president-elect of prestigious group

Edward M. Copeland, M.D., the Edward R. Woodward distinguished professor of surgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine and an international authority on breast cancer, has been named president-elect of the American College of Surgeons.

Copeland's term as president begins next October. He will be the first surgeon from the state of Florida ever to be named president of the organization, which was founded in 1913 to improve surgical care and surgical education. The group has 64,000 fellows and 5,000 associate fellows and sponsors continuing medical education programs, monitors legislative issues related to surgery and works to improve the quality of care given to patients.

"I'm very excited," Copeland said of the honor. "We have multiple goals."

As president, Copeland said he hopes to advance the college's National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, which measures surgical outcomes to improve the quality of patient care. He plans to ensure the college continues to battle cuts in Medicare reimbursements to physicians and plays a role in legislative initiatives that link quality health care to physician compensation. He also wants to lead the college in its fight for tort reform to change medical malpractice settlement laws.

"This is a testimony to Dr. Copeland's lifetime of excellence in surgery," said William Cance, M.D., a UF professor and chairman of the department of surgery. "It honors his work not only as a surgeon, but also his dedication to the American College of Surgeons, for which he has served in multiple positions for many years.

"This is the most distinguished position an American surgeon can ever attain, being recognized as the leader of the umbrella organization for all surgeons in North America," Cance added. "It's a multifaceted organization that touches on every aspect of a surgeon's life."

Copeland graduated from Duke University with a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1959 and then earned his medical degree at Cornell University's medical school in 1963.

He completed his residency training in general surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He then took time out from his training to serve as a major in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. Copeland was awarded a Bronze Star for his service.

After completing an advanced senior fellowship in cancer surgery at the M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute, he remained on the faculty there and also took an assistant professor position with the University of Texas Medical School at Houston in 1972. Four years later, he earned the rank of professor.

While there, he led the National Bowel Cancer Project for the National Cancer Institute. He also chaired an NCI diet nutrition and cancer scientific review committee.

Copeland left the university in 1982 to come to the UF College of Medicine, where he served a dual role as professor and chairman of the department of surgery until 2003.

During his 23 years at the university, Copeland also has served as interim dean of the College of Medicine in 1996 and as director of the UF Shands Cancer Center from 1994 to 1999.

Copeland has held several national offices, serving as president of the Association for Academic Surgery, president of the Southern Surgical Association, chairman of the American Board of Surgery and chairman of the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons, among others.

He has served on 17 editorial boards, published 500 scientific articles and written 18 books, including "The Breast: Comprehensive Management of Benign and Malignant Disorders," which is soon to be released in its fourth edition.