Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Announcements, Around Campus
By News and Internal Communications
By Dimitra Trejo
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – The UTRGV School of Medicine on June 1 welcomes Dr. Daniel Albo, MD, PhD, FACS, as its new chair of surgery.
Albo’s extensive experience as a surgical oncologist, educator and physician-scientist will lead the Department of Surgery’s goal of training the next generation of surgeons for the Valley region and beyond.
With a national and international reputation for clinical expertise in minimally invasive surgical oncology, Albo said he looks forward to utilizing his skills to motivate UTRGV’s medical students.
“It is an honor and a privilege to join UTRGV’s terrific leadership team,” Albo said. “I am excited about the opportunity to work alongside the School of Medicine’s talented team of surgeons and staff to help fulfill the university’s mission to improve access to cutting-edge surgical care. We are training the next generation of surgical leaders and advancing surgical research right here in the Rio Grande Valley.”
Dr. John Krouse, UTRGV's executive vice president for Health Affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, said Albo’s broad medical training will provide great learning opportunities for future medical providers.
“I can’t tell you how enthusiastic we are to have a person of Dr. Albo’s caliber on our team,” Krouse said. “I am confident he will lead the department forward. He is a highly skilled and respected surgeon who shares our mission to inspire and develop future physician leaders, advance research, and deliver high-quality care in the community.”
MORE ABOUT ALBO
Albo earned his medical degree magna cum laude at the University of the Republic, Uruguay, in 1991. He completed his general surgery residency and obtained a Ph.D. degree in molecular pathobiology at Drexel University in Philadelphia in 2000. He completed his surgical oncology fellowship in 2002 at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
His research has focused on issues of healthcare disparities in surgical oncology among minorities, a specialty he said he hopes to bring to the School of Medicine and the region it serves.
He comes to UTRGV from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, where he served as the Moretz-Mansberger Distinguished Professor and Chair of Surgery, and Cancer Service Line director. During his tenure, he helped develop top surgery programs, as well as cancer clinical, education and research programs.
Albo has held leadership roles in a number of academic surgical societies, including as president of the Association for Academic Surgery. He also received the prestigious Michael E. DeBakey Distinguished Service Award Medal in recognition of his clinical expertise.
ABOUT UTRGV
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.
UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.