Nationally Recognized Surgeon and Researcher Will Oversee Surgical Divisions and Services at Network’s Hospitals and Ambulatory Centers
Sricharan Chalikonda, MD, MHA, FACS, a nationally recognized abdominal surgeon and Allegheny Health Network’s (AHN) chief of medical operations, has assumed an additional important role for the organization as Chair of AHN’s Surgery Institute.
In his new capacity, Dr. Chalikonda will oversee the clinical, academic and research activities of AHN Surgery Institute and its various divisions, including general surgery, trauma and acute care surgery, transplant surgery, plastic surgery, head and neck surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, urology, surgical oncology, bariatrics, colorectal surgery, esophageal surgery and ophthalmology. He will also oversee surgical operations across the entire AHN footprint, including its hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers.
“Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Chalikonda has proven himself to be an exceptional and innovative leader in all areas of academic medicine, including surgical operations, medical education, clinical research, and overall patient care quality and safety,” said Donald Whiting, MD, AHN’s Chief Medical Officer and President of Allegheny Clinic, AHN’s physician organization. “He is a brilliant surgeon and an outstanding clinical leader, and we are excited about the role he will play in further strengthening the clinical and academic foundations of our surgical program in the years ahead.”
Dr. Chalikonda joined AHN in 2018 from Cleveland Clinic as AHN’s chief of clinical operations and strategic initiatives. A pioneer in the use of innovative surgical procedures for abdominal cancers and other diseases, he maintains his surgical practice as part of AHN’s Center for Digestive Diseases as well as its Cancer Institute.
Over the past two years, Dr. Chalikonda has also played a key role in AHN’s COVID-19 pandemic strategy and response. In 2020, an article he wrote – published by the Journal of the American College of Surgeons – evaluated the use elastomeric masks in a health care setting, as a way for providers to offset disposable N95 mask shortages in a clinically effective, cost-efficient way. His medical operations team also helped to dramatically expand AHN’s virtual medicine capabilities in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, so that patients could receive medical care and consultations safely from their homes.
“I am honored by the opportunity to lead AHN’s Surgery Institute and thrilled to be a part of the distinguished legacy that AHN and its surgical teams have built over the decades,” Dr. Chalikonda said. “I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues to further advance that tradition, and to work toward creating the next generation of innovations in surgical care that transform the experience and outcomes of those we care for.”
Dr. Chalikonda earned his medical degree from Kasturba Medical College and a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Ohio University. He completed his general surgery residency and a fellowship in minimally invasive and bariatric surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, and a surgical oncology fellowship at UPMC.
Dr. Chalikonda has published extensively and lectured internationally on robotic surgery, innovative cancer treatment and value-based surgery.
Dr. Chalikonda had been serving as chair of AHN’s Surgery Institute on an interim basis since February. He succeeds Ngoc Thai, MD, who continues to lead AHN’s Center for Abdominal Transplantation.
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