For only the eighth time in the 119-year history of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS), the publication is welcoming a new Editor-in-Chief.
Cardiothoracic surgeon Thomas K. Varghese Jr., MD, MS, MBA, FACS, will formally step into the prestigious role on March 1, succeeding Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, FACS, who has served as JACS Editor-in-Chief since 2004.
âJACS is one of the worldâs oldest surgical scientific journals. There is an outstanding foundation of excellence built by all the prior Editors-In-Chief and the JACS editorial team,â Dr. Varghese said.
Dr. Varghese is chief of the section of general thoracic surgery and professor (tenure track) in the Department of Surgery at the University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City, as well as chief value officer (inpatient and ambulatory) at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, also in Salt Lake City. His previous editorial positions include editorial board member and deputy editor of digital media and scholarship for The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, editorial board member for Perioperative Care and Operating Room Management, and editorial board member for CTSNet.
âIn every aspect of my professional career and my involvement in journals and academic publishing, Iâve always looked through the lens of, âHow can we do better?â, âWhat are we learning?â, âHow do we communicate this?â, âHow do we learn from the community around us?ââ said Dr. Varghese, who will begin shadowing Dr. Eberlein this month.Â
Vision for JACS
With an impressive vision for JACS, Dr. Varghese plans to create a space where those who are committed to improving surgical science can come together, learn from each other, and detail the new advances in the House of Surgery that will transform services, systems, and the lives of patients.
Recognizing that, for the first time in history, five different generations are together in the workplace, he acknowledged âgenerational themesâ that require strategic consideration.
âPeople are living longer. People are retiring at later stages,â Dr. Varghese said. âThe older generations historically like things on paper, but theyâre embracing the digital formats. The younger generations never looked at anything in hard copy and prefer the digital formats. And then, of course, you throw in the disruptive technologyâour smartphonesâthat we use ubiquitously for almost everything we do, from starting our cars to ordering groceries. Beyond all that, though, how do people best learn?â
Dr. Varghese is passionate about making JACS as user-friendly as possible by embracing digital media, bringing high-quality information to every reader, and further improving the quality of their interaction with the information.
âThe key is to make sure weâre flexible with all these different formats. Itâs really about delivering surgical expertise to your fingertips. Thatâs the goalâto get the best of science in JACS, and then deliver it to our readers in the format they want, and that may change from time to time,â he said.
Background
According to Dr. Varghese, everything about him is âa little bit unconventional.â His journey to becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon and leader in academic publishing has not been straightforward.
âAnd honestly, Iâve enjoyed that. Itâs made for a challenging path at times, but Iâve always embraced the opportunities,â he said.
Dr. Varghese was born in India and moved with his family to the US when he was just 1 year old. While growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, he found a love of basketball. In fact, he dreamed of becoming a professional basketball player. Early in his high school playing years, though, he tore ligaments in his right knee and needed surgery. It was that encounter with the health system that opened his eyes. Dr. Varghese found himself fascinated by all the phases needed for a successful resultâeverything that happened before, during, and after the operation, and everyone who was involved in his care.Â
âThat was my first exposure to the medical field,â said Dr. Varghese. âThe biggest thing I realized was it wasnât just the surgeon. It was the team. I lost count of the number of people who were involved in my careâfrom preoperative to the actual surgery to postoperative rehab recovery. Thatâs when I started thinking about pursuing a career in the medical field.â
Another change in his life occurred after his sophomore year in high school: Dr. Varghese and his family moved back to India. âSo I grew up in the US as an immigrant and moved back to India as an immigrant,â he shared.
He continued playing basketball in college and medical school, and was elected to several leadership positions, including captain of the basketball team, editor of the combined yearbook for the five colleges of the Government Medical College, TrivandrumâUniversity of Kerala in India, and final-year medical school class president.
Dr. Varghese earned his medical degree from Trivandrum, Kerala, where he also completed his internship. He returned to the US after medical school, attending Northwestern University in Chicago for his general surgery residency and a research fellowship in the Division of Organ Transplantation, and then the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship. Dr. Varghese also earned a master of science degree in clinical investigation from Northwestern and an executive master of business administration degree from The University of Utah.
Along the way, Dr. Varghese developed a passion for academic publishing, which he says stems from his love of and respect for the scientific method: looking at a problem, concept, or phenomenon, developing a hypothesis, designing an experiment to test the hypothesis, examining the results, and then communicating to the world about what you found.
âThatâs the whole scientific method, and I am passionate about that process,â he said.
Dr. Varghese revealed that his âsuperpowerâ is the fact that he has the greatest parents and amazing support from his wife and family. He credits much of his success and fortitude to the love and guidance heâs received from them. For example, his mom always reminds him to make sure youâre in a room where youâre surrounded by people smarter than you.
âIâve always used that as a basic core principle in my life. Iâve sought to surround myself with people much smarter than I amâpeople who are able to provide unique vantage points and different perspectives. And itâs been critical, I believe, to my success,â he said.Â
Another important life and professional lesson that Dr. Varghese learned from his parents is to be open to different viewpoints and perspectives that you may not have contemplated or that challenge you.
âWhatever your differences of opinion are, at the end of the day, celebrate or sit down with a cup of chai. Respect each other and come together. In science, that really benefits us, because you need contrarians. You need people to push back on whatâs going out there,â explained Dr. Varghese. âDifferent perspectives and passionate debates will make our journal better, and we want to create an environment that becomes a destination for talented people to be able to share their science and thrive.â
Service with the ACS
For the ACS, Dr. Varghese has served as a Governor-at-Large on the ACS Board of Governors (BoG), Chair of the BoG Nominating Committee for the Board of Regents, Vice-Chair of the BoG Best Practices Workgroup, member of the BoG Quality, Research, and Optimal Patient Care Pillar, member of the BoG Telehealth & Informatics Workgroup, and Utah Chapter Governor.
âDr. Vargheseâs commitment to the advancement of surgical research and his extensive ACS involvement over the years has positioned him well to lead the Journal of the American College of Surgeons,â said ACS Executive Director and CEO Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS. âHis vision will build upon the excellent work over the last 20 years by Dr. Tim Eberlein. We thank Dr. Eberlein for his many years of service and his important work on behalf of the Journal, and we welcome Dr. Varghese as we look to the next phase of scientific publishing encompassing all disciplines within the House of Surgery.â
The first issue under Dr. Vargheseâs editorship is expected to publish in April 2025.
