Fellows and Alumni of The Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery at Washington University and Barnes Jewish Hospital in St Louis, Missouri
The Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship Program at Washington University / Barnes Jewish Hospital was started in 1980 by Dr. Ira Kodner, making it one of the longest-standing academic colon and rectal surgery fellowships in the United States. Our one-year clinical fellowship is ACGME accredited for three positions each year.
Fellows will work closely with 7 board-certified full-time faculty members. Three of our faculty have been Presidents of the ASCRS, three have been Presidents of the ABCRS and five have been Section or Division Chiefs of Colon and Rectal Surgery. Past and current faculty include – Ira Kodner, Robert Fry, James Fleshman, Elisa Birnbaum, Tom Read, David Dietz, Matthew Mutch, Jennifer Lowney, Steve Hunt, Anne Lin, Bashar Safar, Sekhar Dharmarajan, Paul Wise, Matthew Silviera, and Sean Glasgow.
Dr Ira Kodner was the first Program Director serving from 1980 to 1989. Dr. Robert Fry then assumed the roll from 1989-1994. Dr. James Fleshman served from 1994-1999. Dr. Elisa Birnbaum held the position from 1999-2007. Dr. Matthew Mutch served from 2007-2015. Dr. Steven Hunt took over in 2015 and is the current Program Director.
From 1980 to 1997, the program trained one fellow a year. In 1998, the program expanded to 2 fellows a year and then 3 fellows in 2006. Since it's inception, the Washington University Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship Program has graduated 59 fellows.
