Page 74 - IFSO-History-Book-Digital-File

23 - Lilian Kow 2019-2022 Australia

A Senior Consultant Surgeon and Clinical Professor at Flinders
Medical Centre in Adelaide, Professor Kow co-founded the
Adelaide Bariatric Centre in 1995. The following year, she helped
pioneer laparoscopic gastric band surgery in Australia by
introducing the Swedish Adjustable Gastric Band to the country.
She has spent over 25 years training and examining surgeons
nationally and internationally, and has served as president of both
the Australian and New Zealand Metabolic and Obesity Surgery
Society (ANZMOSS) and the IFSO Asia-Pacific Chapter
(IFSO-APC). In recognition of her distinguished service to MBS
and obesity medicine, she was awarded the Medal of the Order of
Australia (OAM) in 2022. On the global stage, she became the first
woman to serve as President of IFSO, holding the office for an
unprecedented three-year term from 2019-2022 after the
pandemic postponed the usual presidential transition. During her
term, she successfully navigated the organization through the
global crisis by launching the IFSO Virtual Academy, pivoting the
availability of MBS education and clinical safety guidelines entirely
online.

24 - Scott A. Shikora 2022-2023 USA
Professor Shikora served four years as a U.S. Air Force staff
surgeon specializing in trauma, intensive care, nutrition, and
resident training, and he was awarded the Air Force Meritorious
Service Medal and Commendation Medal. Academically and
clinically, he served as the Director of the Center for Metabolic
and Bariatric Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and
Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. Early in his
leadership career, he served as President of both the American
Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (2004) and the ASMBS
(2008–2009). On the global stage, he served as the President of
IFSO from 2022-2023, a monumental term defined by his
leadership in partnering with ASMBS to co-author and publish the
historic 2022 Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Guidelines. This vital
evidence-based document replaced the 30-year-old 1991 NIH
consensus criteria, and has since been adopted by healthcare
networks globally to modernize MBS clinical care and insurance
coverage. Shikora continues to guide international research as the
longstanding Editor-in-Chief of Obesity Surgery, IFSO’s official
journal. His career achievements have been recognized with the
2011 Distinguished Alumni Award from Muhlenberg College, the
2015 ASMBS Foundation Outstanding Achievement Award, and
the 2017 IFSO President’s Award.

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