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Surgery

Douglas B. Evans, MD

Chair, Department of Surgery
Donald C. Ausman Family Foundation Chair

“We are committed to improving the care of patients – not only our patients of today but also our patients of tomorrow – through innovation, discovery and courageous approaches to medical illness.”

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Douglas Evans, MD

Douglas B. Evans, MD, is the Donald C. Ausman Family Foundation Professor of Surgery and Chair of the Department of Surgery at The Medical College of Wisconsin. Prior to joining the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2009, he was the Hamill Foundation Distinguished Professor of Surgery at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is board-certified in surgery, and his clinical interests include treatment of pancreatic cancer and tumors of the endocrine system (thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal and gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors). Dr. Evans holds appointments at Froedtert Hospital, the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center and Children’s Wisconsin.

Dr. Evans has devoted his professional career to the research and treatment of pancreatic cancer and inherited endocrine syndromes. His interests include translational laboratory research in the biology of pancreatic cancer and in clinical trial development. He has completed a number of investigator-initiated clinical trials, including a National Cancer Institute Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (NIH P20 SPORE) pancreatic cancer grant. At MD Anderson, his endocrine surgery group worked extensively on the genotype-phenotype correlations in multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes and they were the first to define the role for ultrasound in the preoperative management of patients with thyroid cancer. He was twice awarded the Outstanding Teacher Award at MD Anderson and he also received the Faculty Achievement Award in Clinical Research in 1998. Since joining MCW, Dr. Evans has grown the faculty across all clinical divisions in the department, emphasized the importance of innovation and discovery and championed the principles of inclusion and diversity. The MCW surgical residency program has led the way in supporting the careers of young women in general and subspecialty surgery. The MCW Program in Pancreatic Cancer was recently endowed by the LaBahn family and is one of very few endowed Pancreatic Cancer Research Programs in this country.

Dr. Douglas Evans SailboatDr. Evans is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a member of the editorial boards of Surgery and The American Journal of Surgery. He is past Editor of the Pancreatic Tumors Section of the Annals of Surgical Oncology. He served on the editorial board for the seventh edition of the AJCC (American Joint Committee on Cancer) Cancer Staging Manual and chaired the committee that revised the staging system for pancreatic cancer. He has served on various national medical advisory committees and has worked extensively with patient advocacy groups including the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) and the Lustgarten Foundation. In 2013 and 2014, Dr. Evans served as the Chair of the PanCAN-American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Acceleration Network Grants Scientific Review Committee and from 2016-2018 he served on the Scientific Review Committee for the PanCAN-AACR Career Development Awards. He was appointed to the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center External Advisory Board and currently serves on the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research PanCuRx Review Panel and the National Advisory Council for the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGEN).

Pictured right: His J122 sailing program named elbow room is active on Lake Michigan and dedicated to pancreatic cancer awareness.

Dr. Evans has authored or co-authored over 400 journal articles, over 90 book chapters and has edited eight books. He has delivered countless invited and named lectureships nationally and internationally. He served as the President of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons in 2010-2011. Dr. Evans was awarded the American College of Surgeons Traveling Fellowship to Australia and New Zealand in 1999.

Dr. Evans completed a general surgery residency at Dartmouth followed by a surgical oncology fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He received his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine and his Bachelor of Science from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. He was recently awarded the Benjamin E. Mays Medal for alumni achievement at Bates. He and his wife, Betsy, have three adult children: Courtney (Henke), Lindsay and Bryan - and six grandchildren.

The-Word-on-Medicine_Green“The Word on Medicine” Radio Program highlights innovation and discovery across MCW. Podcasts of previously aired shows are available through the following streaming links: iHeartRadio, iTunes, Podbean, Stitcher.

MCW Medical Moments (YouTube videos)

Listen to Dr. Douglas Evans' introduction to the 8/7/2021 Word on Medicine broadcast (audio)

Pancreatic Cancer Program

Pancreatic Cancer Illustrations

Endocrine Cancer Program

Liver, Pancreas and Biliary Duct Cancer Program

Vein Resection (Whipple Procedure)

The importance of good nutrition - Dena McDowell MS RD (PDF)

Interview with an Expert - Dr. Douglas Evans (PDF)

Leading Experts in Pancreatic Cancer: expertscape Your first step to a Second Opinion

Dr. Evans' presentation at the Seay Lectureship 2016: "Personalized Medicine for Localized Pancreatic Cancer"

"A Love for Surgery Underpins a Career Devoted to Patients with Pancreatic Cancer" by Dr. Douglas Evans, The ASCO Post, June 3, 2021

Recent Publications from the Faculty Collaboration Database

Publications of Douglas B. Evans MD from the Faculty Collaboration Database

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