In a formal ceremony held July 29, 2024, at the University of Vermont’s Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine, Professor of Surgery Gary An, M.D., was invested as the inaugural holder of the Department of Surgery’s Green and Gold Professorship of Trauma and Critical Care. Dr. An is also Vice Chair of Surgical Research at the College. 

This endowed professorship was established in 2013 through the generosity of the faculty in the Department of Surgery, who collectively established Green and Gold professorships in each of their divisions to demonstrate their high regard for their history and a commitment to the department’s future. The professorship will provide Dr. An with support to continue to deliver innovative, effective care and advance insights and educational accomplishments in his field.   

“Through research, teaching, and clinical care, Dr. An and all the faculty and staff affiliated with the Department of Surgery truly embody the best of UVM,” stated UVM Provost and Senior Vice President Patty Prelock, Ph.D.“They arrive on campus each day asking how they can make a difference—for today’s patients and tomorrow’s health care providers.”

With members of the An family attending both in person and virtually, Prelock, along with the Dean of the Larner College of Medicine Richard L. Page, M.D., hosted and led the event in the College of Medicine’s Hoehl Gallery. Joining them were the Stanley S. Fieber M.D. ’48 Chair of Surgery Mitchell Norotsky, M.D., and Chief Development Officer of the UVM Foundation Ginger Lubkowitz.

Dr. An is a highly respected researcher, clinician, teacher, and scholar. He plays a key role as a preceptor for medical students and residents, supervising and teaching them during their clinical rotations in General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care. Dr. An is also involved with the Medical Student Summer Research Program Committee and the Department of Surgery Executive Council. He has authored over 115 peer-reviewed papers, mentored dozens of students, fellows, residents, and junior faculty members—seventeen at the Larner College of Medicine and University of Vermont Medical Center alone—and has served as a reviewer for twenty medical journals, holding the titles of editorial board member and specialty chief editor for Shock and Frontiers System Biology, respectively. 

In addition to his work at UVM, Dr. An currently serves on the National Institutes of Health’s Multiscale Modeling Consortium Working Group on Digital Twins, and has been involved with developing and researching computational models for diseases such as sepsis for more than 20 years. Dr. An is also an integral member of the Steering Committee for the NIH Interagency Modeling and Analysis Group and Multiscale Modeling Consortium. Other accomplishments include co-founding the Society for Acute Complex Illness, co-founding the field of Translational Systems Biology, co-introducing the concept of using simulation-based Deep Reinforcement Learning to discover new therapeutic agents/repurposing drugs, and developing the first computational comparative model linking bat and human immune responses to viral infection.

His achievements in the field have also captured the attention of national organizations, such as the NIH, NSF, NIDRR, and others. Dr. An, along with mentee Chase Cockrell, Ph.D., has led a $2.7M DARPA-funded project, REPAIR (Regenerative Electronic Patch through Advanced Intelligent Regulation), exploring AI as a tool for treating volumetric muscle loss. Results have already been promising, aiding in the diagnosis of trachoma and the prediction of long COVID. Dr. An’s work with DARPA also extends to prediction and treatment of post-burn sepsis. He was integral in introducing the use of agent-based modeling to study sepsis and published one of the first papers on the use of In Silico Clinical trials to evaluate drug candidates for sepsis. 

“Dr. An has been a highly valued colleague that I can count on for sage advice, be it clinical opportunities, professional concerns or academic opportunities. His ability to take a complex situation with high emotions and simplify it into a very thoughtful and easy manner to follow is admirable,” said Dr. Norotsky. “Dr. An is one of the rare ‘triple threats’ in the surgical field: outstanding clinician, exceptional researcher, and phenomenal educator.”

Endowed positions represent one of the highest honors in academia. Appointing distinguished faculty members to endowed chairs and professorships enables the university to acknowledge and celebrate academic excellence, while also promoting further scholarship, service, and clinical distinction. Dr. An exemplifies such an esteemed faculty member—renowned as a researcher, clinician, educator, and scholar. He has devoted his career to enhancing the lives of patients and families facing complex and challenging circumstances. His research, teaching, and leadership continually advance our capacity to care for patients both in Vermont and globally.