The Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery celebrated the 2024-2025 graduation with a banquet at Missouri Botanical Gardens on June 21.
The ceremony took place in Spink Pavilion, where division faculty, families of trainees, and colleagues gathered to honor the graduates’ achievements. With the division having celebrated its centennial anniversary this year, leadership pushed to provide graduating trainees with the most memorable experience and celebrate them appropriately as they embark on their careers.
Congratulations to the graduating chief residents—Alexandra Keane, MD, Damini Tandon, MD, Kenan Tawaklna, MD, William Zhu, MD—and to the graduating fellows—Jacquelynn Lee, MD, Ahmed Mansour, MD, and Megan Pencek, MD.
James Barrett Brown Visiting Professor and 29th Annual Research Day
Before the graduation ceremony, on Friday, June 13, the division hosted the 29th Annual James Barrett Brown Research Day. The invited speaker was Joan E. Lipa, MD, MSc, who is the chair of the Division of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery at the University of Toronto.
Trainees from the division presented research from Plastic Surgery Research Laboratories in honor of James Barrett Brown, MD, chief of plastic surgery from 1955 to 1968. This event honors his legacy by promoting research and essential collaboration.
Justin Sacks, MD, MBA, director of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the Sydney M. Jr and Robert H. Shoenberg Endowed Chair in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery welcomed guests and introduced Amber Leis, MD, and Matthew Wood, PhD, who gave an overview of the research presentations.
Lipa presented her address titled Full Circle… on the Journey of Breast Reconstruction, which discussed her clinical and academic focus in the complete spectrum of reconstructive care and service delivery improvements for patients with breast and implant-related cancers and improving favorable outcomes of reconstructive surgery in those procedures.
Research presentations
Ater the introduction by Leis and Wood, the day was divided into several sessions of research presentations. Trainees showcased their faculty sponsored research projects, competing for awards, which were presented at the end of the event. Presentations were judged by a committee of faculty and the invited lecturer.
More than twenty podium and poster abstracts were presented over the course of the day. Each presenter provided their purpose, methods, results and conclusions on a variety of topics ranging from novel therapies for peripheral nerve regeneration, to hand surgery recovery, to molecular correlations in diagnoses for implant patients.
The winers of the 29th James Barrett Brown Research Day were Grace Keane Tahmaseb, MD, Tara Saffari, MD, MS, and Arthur Sletten, MD, PhD.
Congratulations to the winners for their exemplary work in plastic and reconstructive surgery research and to their faculty mentors for their guidance.
After announcing the research abstract winners and presenting their awards, division leaders presented the visiting professor with a James Barrett Brown Research Day commemorative plaque.
“Congratulations to Grace Keane, MD, Artie Sletten, MD, PhD, and Tara Saffari, MD, MS, for winning presentation awards,” said Sacks. “Well done! The clinical, translational and basic science work presented at the 29th annual JBB Research Day was outstanding.”
Graduation banquet and graduates
A week later, the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery convened at Spink Pavillion in the Missouri Botanical Gardens on Saturday, June 21.
Graduating residents and fellows were joined by faculty, friends and loved ones alike to celebrate the culmination of their accomplishments of the last several years.
At the banquet, Kelly Currie, MD, introduced the night of celebration by addressing everyone with a warm welcome, recognizing residents and fellows for their great efforts throughout their journey in plastic and reconstructive surgery education.
The residents and fellows were first introduced by faculty mentors, who offered remarks describing each resident’s respective journey. Graduating trainees then took the podium in succession, addressing guests and loved ones in the audience, imparting wisdom from along the way and offering gratitude for faculty support. Graduates were then presented with their certificates of graduation.
The graduating plastic surgery residents are:
- Alexandra Keane, MD, who will be pursuing a fellowship in Louisville, KY.
- Damini Tandon, MD, who will be pursuing a reconstructive microsurgery fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
- Kenan Tawaklna, MD, who will be pursuing a microsurgery fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centr at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA
- William Zhu, MD, who will join the faculty as an assistant professor
The graduating hand surgery fellows are:
- Jacquelynn Lee, MD, who will be going into practice at the University of Nevada Las Vegas
- Ahmed Mansour, MD, who will be going into practice at a community-based hospital in Chicago
The microsurgery fellow is:
- Megan Pencek, MD, who will be going into practice in the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin at the Medical College of Wisconsin as an academic plastic surgeon, focusing in pediatric and adult craniofacial surgery, as well as pediatric plastic and microsurgery
Teaching awards
After graduates were presented with their certificates, trainee-selected division awards were announced and presented to residents:
- Kelly Currie, MD, presented the Student-Elected Resident Teaching Award to Caitlin Marks, MD. This award was voted on by all trainees.
- Amy Kells, MD, PhD, presented he Best Project Presentation Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Award to Collean Trotter, MD.
- Keith Brandt, MD, presented the Resident-Elected Resident Teaching Award to Anna Rose Johnson, MD. This award was voted on exclusively by residents.
- The graduating chiefs presented the Paul M. Weeks Award for Excellence in Resident Education to Thomas Tung, MD.
As the evening came to a close, after all awards were presented and all graduates received their certificates, Sacks offered closing remarks.
“Each of our graduated trainees leads with the spirit of relentless pursuit of knowledge and unwavering dedication to excellence in service,” Sacks said. “You have arrived at this moment through drive and steadfast commitment, which will propel you throughout your respective careers. On behalf of WashU and our division, congratulations on this monumental milestone. The future looks bright, and you have our best wishes. Have confidence in your skills, as you enter practice with the full proficiency of the WashU plastic surgery training program.”
Congratulations to the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery residency and fellowship class of 2025!