Dr. Jamal J. Hoballah, professor and chair of the Department of Surgery, has been conferred with Honorary Fellowship by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the largest surgical organization in the world, established in 1913, with 90,000 members and 123 chapters worldwide. This prestigious recognition honors his exceptional contributions to the field of surgery. The honorary fellowship is awarded to distinguished surgeons who have demonstrated leadership, advanced surgical care, and contributed significantly to education and research on a global scale, aligning with the ACS's commitment to excellence in patient care and safety.
Dr. Hoballah received his MD from the AUB, where he also began his surgical training. He then transferred to New York University (NYU), where he completed a full general surgery residency and a trauma fellowship. He remained as faculty at NYU for two years, serving as a trauma and general surgeon at Bellevue and the Manhattan VA hospitals. He then moved to the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City, where he completed a Vascular Fellowship.
Over nearly two decades at the University of Iowa, he became a tenured professor, director of the Vascular Surgery Fellowship program, chair of the vascular surgery division, and surgical director of the Heart and Vascular Center. He has held the position of president of both the Johnson County Medical Society and the Iowa Vascular Surgery Society. Additionally, he was an examiner for the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Vascular Surgery. During his time at the University of Iowa, he also obtained an executive master's degree in business administration.
Since 2008, Dr. Hoballah has been serving as professor and chair of the Department of Surgery at AUB. Over his career, he has authored and co-authored 142 peer-reviewed articles and 92 book chapters, and edited/co-edited 16 books, contributing significantly to the fields of vascular and trauma surgery.
Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Hoballah played a key role in bringing the ACS General Surgery Review Course to Beirut and AUB, and also expanding it to Jordan, Greece, and Latin America. He also facilitated the introduction of the ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program® (NSQIP®) to AUBMC, making it the first NSQIP-affiliated hospital in the Middle East, and then assisted multiple hospitals in nearby nations in doing the same. Furthermore, Dr. Hoballah was the organiser and course director of the “Principles of Perioperative Safety and Efficiency" conference with the ACS Lebanon Chapter and the IRC, which culminated in a very recently published book on this topic.
Dr. Hoballah is one of the founders and president of the Pan Arab Vascular Surgical Society and president of the Middle East Chapter of the Mediterranean Federation for Advancing Vascular Surgery. He has also served as president of the Lebanese Society for Vascular Surgery and held leadership roles in the ACS, including president and governor of the ACS Lebanon Chapter, chair of the ACS International Governors Workgroup, chair of the ACS Board of Governors Nominating Committee, and chair of the ACS International Relations Committee (IRC).