Our Fellowship Leader
Dr. S. Scott Davis, Jr. MD is an Professor of surgery in the Division of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery in Emory University Department of Surgery. He joined the Emory faculty in 2005. He specializes in advanced laparoscopy and GI surgery, and has been the Director for the Minimally Invasive Surgery fellowship in the Emory Endosurgery Unit since 2015, one of the longest standing MIS fellowships in the country. Dr. Davis has authored more than 85 peer reviewed articles and numerous abstracts and video presentations. He is a member of multiple societies, including SAGES, ACS, SSAT, ASBMS and SESC. He serves on several committees for National Societies, most notably the SAGES Education Council, Communications Committee, and the Investment committee for the new SAGES Ingenuity Fund. He previously Chaired the SAGES Publications Committee from 2015-2022.
Overview
Thank you for your interest in the Emory Endosurgery Unit. 2022 marked the 30th year the program had been training fellows in advanced minimally invasive surgery. This makes it one of oldest MIS training programs with an esteemed list or prior trainees in leadership positions throughout the world. THIS IS A 1-YEAR CLINICAL TRACK Laparoscopic Advanced GI/Foregut Surgery Fellowship with an emphasis on laparoscopy for complex GI diseases.
Cases performed by the fellows in a typical month are: Foregut, Bariatrics, and Abdominal Wall, with miscellaneous Colon/Small Bowel, Upper/Lower Endoscopy, and general surgery. The emphasis is on foregut surgery, hernia surgery, and bariatric surgery. Fellows will participate in over 100 robotic cases across the 3 core areas. Foregut surgery is a historical strength at our institution and our fellowship was founded by foregut surgeons. Typical years will be 80-100 laparoscopic/robotic foregut cases along with endoscopy and foregut physgiology training. Case numbers for bariatric certification are sufficient in some years and not in others so the program has not currently listed for the Bariatric designation (fellows usually graduate with around 80 cases but are short on anastomotic cases, doing around 40), but most graduated fellows have bariatric surgery as part of their practice. Emory Bariatrics is an American College of Surgeons Level 1 Center of Excellence for Bariatrics, where we offer gastric bypass surgery, sleeve gastrectomies, and revision surgeries. We have two participating Centers of Excellence. The Midtown location fifth full accreditation in December 2019, and the Saint Joe’s Center was recentaly instituted in 2022. The abdominal wall program includes education in all techniques including roboTAR and eTEP, as well as core procedures such as lap TEP inguinal herner repair. Around 90% of the cases during the year are Minimally Invasive.
Previous directors of the Unit were John Hunter (founding director), C. Daniel Smith, and Edward Lin (current Division Chief and Associate Program Director). We train 2 fellows yearly.
This fellowship is committed to prepare future leaders in minimally invasive and GI surgery. All fellows participate in the esophageal function laboratory since foregut diseases have historically been prominent in the Unit. The case mix can be straight-forward to the most complex. Six primary faculty members (Ed Lin, Scott Davis, Ankit Patel, Jamil Stetler, Lizzie Hechenbleikner, and Mobola Oyefule) form the core in the fellows' training and actively participate in all aspects of research and education including weekly research conferences and education courses offered by the Unit
The academic curriculum is delivered through our weekly Research Meetings. The fellows receive a structured curriculum which includes: 1. Research design and hypothesis 2. Regression and statistics primer 3. Developing a presentation, with critique and re-presentation 4. Paper and Chapter writing with an assigned mentor 5. Journal Clubs 6. Faculty Lectures (foregut, bariatrics, childhood obesity, new programs, robotics) 7. Fellow Lectures (new technology, SAGES debriefing, drug metabolism) 8. Fellows serving as instructors and mentors to residents and students 9. Lectures to Medical Students 10. Job search, CV building.
Application, Inquires, and Training Verification
Prospective fellows should apply to the program through the Fellowship Council by September 1st. Interviews are often scheduled at Emory in October and November. To complete the credentialing and privileges process, approved applicants must attain medical licensure in the State of Georgia at least six months in advance of their fellowship.
For more information about the fellowship, please contact Dr. Edward Lin, associate program director of the fellowship. Dr. Lin oversees the day-to-day aspects of the fellows' clinical, academic, and research activities.
For training verification requests, contact Antoinette Gilbert, program coordinator.