Generations of New Ideas
Inspired to improve the quality of life of people with colorectal cancer and related conditions
John H Marks, MD The evolution: minimally invasive surgery and ground-breaking technology.
Following in the footsteps of his father’s pioneering work in multimodal rectal cancer therapy and sphincter-preserving surgery, Dr. John Marks pushes the envelope to advance minimally invasive surgical approaches to deliver the advantages of these techniques to cancer care and other colorectal conditions.
Dr. John Marks with the latest generation single port robot.
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Welcome Danny HJ Heo. Recent graduate of Penn, premed, and new administrative assistant to Dr. Marks. He'll also be helping coordinate clinical research and education activities as he prepares to apply to medical school.
Austrian surgeon Dr. Thomas Saini joined Dr. Marks for a weeklong observership in October 2023.
Analena Alcabes, MD is clinical fellow #22 in the Minimally Invasive Colorectal Surgery and Advanced Rectal Cancer Management track.
Mr. Peter Vaughan-Shaw, winner of The Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain & Ireland 2023 USA Travelling Fellowship and Consultant Colorectal and Robotic Surgeon in the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland, used his award to spend a week in June 2023 observing Dr. Marks to learn more about our experience with the Single-Port Robot for colorectal operations.
Mr. Peter Vaughan-Shaw, Dr. Marks, and Dr. Keller at Lankenau Medical Center, June 2023.
Colorectal Inpatient Unit Team at Lankenau Medical Center
June 2022. Hi from the podium. Dr. John Marks, expert faculty at IRCAD, Strasbourg, France.
June 2022. Drs. Marks and Valsdottir taking in more of amazing Iceland. Dr. Marks gave 2 presentations: 1) Recurrent and Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer, and 2) The Benefits of Robotic Colorectal Surgery
June 2022. Dr. Valsdottir shared some iconic sights in Iceland with Dr. Marks during his visit for the Nordic Colorectal Course.
June 2022. Dr. John Marks with Marks Colorectal Fellow #6 Elsa Bjork Valsdottir, MD, now Assistant Professor at the University of Iceland and Program Director of this year's Nordic Colorectal Course.
June 2022. An intrepid spirit, Dr. Valsdottir swam the English Channel the week before hosting the 17th Nordic Colorectal Conference.
June 2022. Dr. John Marks enjoying the company of (and planning collaborations with) international minimally invasive colorectal surgery experts from France, Italy, Taiwan, Brazil, and USA at IRCAD, Strasbourg, France.
Great to see Lankenau Medical Center and our work highlighted in General Surgery News, reaching the largest surgeon audience of any monthly surgical publication.
Colorectal surgeons, minimally invasive surgeons, and surgical oncologists are very curious about the single port robot platform and eager to hear our experience.
New Research Assistant Suraj Chetty. Suraj earned is B.S. in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He rounds out our A Team as he prepares to apply to medical school. We're thrilled to have Suraj on the team.
Dr. Marks. Always trying something new.
SPECIAL REPORT
2022-2023 Summary of MCRSF Research and Education Activities
Building an International Community of Clinical Scientists: Meet MIRCS
The creation of the Multidisciplinary International Rectal Cancer Society formalized decades of bringing together a global community of exceptional physicians to share expertise, discoveries, challenges, support, and debate. This has been a wellspring for rectal cancer experts, helping to solve problems, define the frontiers of therapy, and inspire one another to meet the challenges of innovation.
Educating the next generation of surgeons
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CLINICAL FELLOWSHIP: Minimally Invasive Colorectal Surgery, Advanced Rectal Cancer Management, and Technical Innovation
Beginning in 2002, a surgical clinical fellowship has been offered by Marks Colorectal Surgical Associates, launched with support from the Marks Colorectal Surgical Foundation. Not only do fellows get an unparalleled concentration on minimally invasive approaches to colorectal surgical therapy, they also learn to apply these techniques and understand multimodal treatment of rectal cancer. The importance of the interdisciplinary treatment is now underscored by the establishment of the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer by the American College of Surgeons, an initiative that Dr. John Marks helped develop and continues to participate in both as the Main Line Health System program director and serving on the ACS-NAPRC executive committee. This fellowship also offers passionate surgeons an inside experience of the process of safe innovation and how to take an idea from concept to clinical practice. This lays a foundation for contributing to the future of surgery creatively as well as in direct service to patients.
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RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP: Academic Colorectal Surgical Research in Complex Rectal Cancer Management, Surgical and Oncologic Therapy Innovation, and Program Development Skills
This opportunity is targeted for international surgeons and other physicians who have an interest in learning about complex rectal cancer care and surgical technological innovation in our program and contributing academically to our ongoing work. This may be especially relevant for international physicians who seek to build a program in their home country. Applicants must have earned an MD and be fluent in English. Fellowships range from 3 to 12 months. Fellows will participate in the twice-monthly multidisciplinary rectal cancer conference and weekly research meetings, help with data collection and interpretation, design and execute clinical studies, learn to work with the Human Protections committee, author publications, prepare presentations, work with our image archive, and have some exposure to the clinical practice.
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RESEARCH ASSISTANT: One Year Experience for Medical School Applicants
The year-long Research Assistant position has been a vital to the academic productivity and clinical research effort of the Marks Colorectal Surgical Foundation and Marks Colorectal Surgical Associates. It offers a phenomenally rich and challenging research experience and clinical exposure to pre-medical students and has been the bridge to medical school acceptance since 2002.
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EXTERNSHIPS
We are currently launching externships for college graduates holding a bachelor’s degree who want real-world, dynamic, firsthand experience with the clinical application of skill sets in preparation for employment or graduate education. Desirable skills include media asset management, statistical methods and systems science, communications, and audiovisual/computer technology. A minimum time commitment to completing a defined project is 5 hours per week for the duration of a semester or 40 hours per week for 4 weeks while not enrolled in school.
SKILL EXPANSION FOR PRACTICING COLORECTAL SURGEONS
BUILDING A TOP NOTCH OR TEAM WORKSHOP
EXPANDING YOUR MIS ONCOLOGY REPERTOIRE
COMPLEX RECTAL CANCER SURGERY
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Gerald Marks, MD Standing on the shoulders of a giant.
Dr. Gerald Marks, visionary colorectal surgeo, brought courage, drive, empathy, and surgical prowess to the challenges of treating rectal cancer in new ways to achieve dramatically superior oncologic outcomes and sphincter preservation. This required imagination and boldness but also the capacity to build teamwork among medical specialists at the local, national, and international level and to embrace emerging technology.
Dr. Gerald Marks and Dr. John Marks