On November 10, 2022, Brian Rubin, MD, was honored at the Semi-Annual General Staff Meeting and presented with the BJH Medical Staff Association Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes physicians who have provided exceptional service for 25 years or more at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and its predecessor institutions.
Rubin earned his medical degree from the University of Vermont in 1984. After completing his general surgery residency at Yale University School of Medicine and New Haven Hospital in 1989, Rubin arrived at Washington University School of Medicine where he completed his fellowship in vascular surgery under the direction of Gregorio Sicard, MD. Rubin became an associate professor in the Section of Vascular surgery in 1991, went on to become an associate professor of surgery in 1996 and then a professor in 2006. He was named associate director of the vascular service at the newly merged Barnes-Jewish Hospital and became the medical director of vascular laboratories in multiple locations. During his time with Washington University, Rubin has made a name for himself as an accomplished surgeon, researcher and instructor.
“For 30 years, Dr. Rubin has provided a masterful combination of surgical prowess, thoughtful and compassionate patient-centered care, clinical research, and superb teaching of generations of general and vascular surgeons,” says Patrick Geraghty, MD, who nominated Rubin for the award. “He has always taken great pride in belonging to the engaging and talented group of clinicians who make Barnes-Jewish Hospital not just an academic powerhouse, but an irreplaceable resource for regional hospitals and referring physicians, and a lifeline for the seriously ill.”
Rubin’s practice is one marked by a unique ability to adapt to change and innovation in the field and to discern the most optimal treatment methods for patient outcomes. As novel techniques and ideas have turned the tides of vascular medicine as a whole, Rubin has managed both to remain on the leading edge of the field and continue to educate patients so they may participate in the decision-making process and fully understand each of their options for treatment. At the ceremony recognizing Rubin for the award, one such patient personally expressed his and his family’s gratitude for Rubin’s dedication, expertise and compassion.
Rubin lends his knowledge and empathy to his students and trainees as well. “His teaching style has always been impeccable – ever patient, often humorous, and always spurring the trainees to think carefully through the multiple paths that each procedure might take,” says Geraghty, a professor of surgery and radiology in the Section of Vascular Surgery himself. As an instructor, Rubin has contributed to the education and training of many renowned vascular surgeons now practicing at and leading nationally recognized academic surgical programs across the country.
“It is a privilege to be a part of this outstanding department and medical center,” Rubin says. “For more than 30 years, I have been keenly aware of the honor it is to practice here, surrounded by supremely gifted faculty and trainees working together in a world class institution. Very fortunate indeed.”