The Department of Surgery is pleased to announce Dr. Vikram Reddy as the new Division Chief for the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, effective March 1, 2021. Dr. Reddy, an Associate Professor in the Division, succeeds Dr. Walter E. Longo, who led Gastrointestinal Surgery as Division Chief since 2003.
In his new role as Division Chief, Dr. Reddy will be responsible for managing the clinical, research and financial growth of Colon and Rectal Surgery. Dr. Longo will continue his tenure as a full-time faculty member and Professor, including his leadership activity in the Digestive Health Service Line involving Clinical Program Alignment, Continuing Medical Education (CME), Enterostomal Therapy, Care Signature Pathways, and the Alignment of Digestive Health/Behavioral Health Initiative.
“I am thrilled to pass the torch to the next generation of leadership. It was truly an honor to have trained here [at Yale], and to be blessed with the ability to help shape Gastrointestinal Surgery for a very important period of our Departmental History. If you count me as successful, it was uniformly due to the faculty within our Division as well as the numerous allied providers, administrators and staff, and — as always — to our surgical trainees and patients,” said Dr. Longo.
“It is an honor and privilege to receive the torch of leadership, especially from Dr. Longo. The opportunity to lead the next generation of surgeons for the department has been a goal since residency, and I am humbled by the charge to continue the legacy of excellence Dr. Longo has established,” said Dr. Reddy.
Dr. Longo trained at Yale from 1984 to 1990, followed by a Fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. He next joined the surgical faculty at St. Louis University where he rose to Professor of Surgery. In 2002, he was recruited back to Yale to hold numerous leadership positions. Throughout his tenure as Division Chief, Dr. Longo led the growth of the GI surgery program into two distinct divisions. Colon and Rectal Surgery, and Bariatrics and Minimally Invasive Surgery currently serve patients at four sites across the health system. At the same time, Dr. Longo trained and was responsible for the certification of nearly 100 General Surgery Chief Residents, as Program Director of the General Surgery Residency and Director of Graduate Medical Education for the Department of Surgery. He served as Vice Chairman of the Department of Surgery from 2004-2020.
Following in Dr. Longo’s footsteps, Dr. Reddy completed his general surgical residency at Yale 2008. He obtained his MD and PhD degrees at the Medical College of Georgia, and, in 2009, returned to Yale as Dr. Longo’s first faculty recruit to the GI program. Dr. Reddy quickly established a national reputation for his expertise in chronic inflammatory bowel disease and the laparoscopic management and screening of anorectal cancer. At the sponsorship of the Department, Dr. Reddy pursued a Master of Business Administration at Yale, and was appointed to the Faculty Champions Program, in support of his 2020 appointment as Associate Surgical Chief for Digestive Health. He was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Surgery in January 2021.
“Dr. Reddy is a skilled surgeon, beloved by our residents and his patients, and much admired by the academic surgical community. He will be a tremendous addition to our leadership cabinet, as a talented clinician educator clinician, said Department of Surgery Chair, Dr. Nita Ahuja.
“Indeed, we attribute the solid foundation and growth trajectory of the GI surgery programs to Dr. Longo, and his continued dedication to our mission to inspire and develop future generations of leaders.”