PHILADELPHIA –
Ronald M. Fairman, MD, chief of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy in the
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has been elected chair of the
Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Foundation after serving as president for the last year.
Since 1947, the SVS Foundation has sought to “advance excellence and innovation in vascular health” by promoting education, research, patient advocacy and public awareness. Comprised of nearly 6,000 vascular health specialists, the foundation and its 30+ affiliated organizations are committed to furthering clinical and basic research in vascular disease, as well as to funding the development of new prevention and treatment techniques. As chair, Fairman – who is also the Clyde F. Barker–William Maul Measey Professor in Surgery and a professor of Radiology at Penn – will manage the foundation’s highly competitive, peer-reviewed grant initiatives.
This latest appointment is indicative of Fairman’s extensive, dedicated involvement in the foundation. As a member of the foundation since 1999, Fairman has served on a variety of committees, including the Program Committee (vice chair 2010; chair 2011–2014), Post-graduate Education Course Committee (chair 2008–2010), Appointments Committee, Executive Committee, Education Council, Clinical Practice Council, Research Council, Board of Directors, and the FEVAR Practice Guideline Writing Group. He was also named a SVS Foundation Distinguished Fellow in 2003 and received the Presidential Citation Award in 2014. In 2014, Fairman was also appointed vice president, and he was promoted to president in 2016. In addition, he was a founding member of the SVS Foundation’s affiliated organization, the International Society for Vascular Surgery.
Fairman received his Medical Degree from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and promptly began his career with Penn Medicine as a surgical intern in 1977. Fairman completed his internship and residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), where he also served as Chief Resident in General Surgery and Fellow in Peripheral Vascular Surgery before completing additional appointments at the American Oncologic Hospital of the Fox Chase Cancer Center, Jeanes Hospital, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Administration Medical Center, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC), and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.