Last updated on 2024-10-16.

Thomas Ward’s Curriculum Vitae

Education

8/2012-5/2016

Doctor of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville.

8/2008-5/2012

BSc Biochemistry, Religion (minor), University of Georgia, Athens.

summa cum laude with Highest Honors. 3.99 GPA.

Experience

Clinical

9/2024 -

Colorectal Surgeon, University Cancer and Blood Center, Athens, GA.

8/2023 - 7/2024

Colorectal Surgery Fellow, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH.

6/2016 - 6/2023

General Surgery Resident, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.

Research

6/2019 - 6/2021

Surgical AI and Innovation Fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital.

Two year research fellowship where I applied artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computer vision to intra-operative video analysis.

6/2013 - 5/2016

Abdominal Trauma in Motor Vehicle Collisions, Center for Applied Biomechanics, University of Virginia.

Discovered a novel application of Computer Tomography 3D Fat Volume Rendering to determine use and positioning of seat belts after motor vehicle collisions.

1/2012 - 5/2012

Senior Thesis, Department of Religion, University of Georgia.

Adopted Thomas Aquinas’s classical proofs to a process philosophy system under the direction of Dr. William Power.

8/2011 - 5/2012

Undergraduate Assistant, Department of Biochemistry, University of Georgia.

Worked in the Dailey Lab to characterize the ferrochelatase iron transport channel and create a novel ferrochelatase Rieske protein.

Membership and service

Membership

1/2021 -

American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons.

5/2019 -

Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons.

Member of the Artificial Intelligence Taskforce. Co-leader of the Software, Platform, and Data Structure working group for the SAGES Video Annotation Conference held February, 2020 in Houston, TX.

6/2016 - 12/2023

Massachusetts Medical Society

6/2016 - 12/2023

Massachusetts Chapter of the American College of Surgeons

6/2015 -

American College of Surgeons.

Professional Service

1/2023 -

Member of Diseases of the Colon & Rectum Reviewer’s Guild.

1/2023 -

Reviewer for Journal of Surgical Research.

7/2021 -

Reviewer for Scientific Reports.

6/2021 -

Reviewer for Surgical Endoscopy.

6/2020 -

Reviewer for Annals of Surgery.

Teaching

6/2022 - 6/2023

MGH Education Chief Resident

12/2019 - 1/2023

MGH ABSITE Review Course Instructor

7/2018 - 7/2022

MGH Intern Bootcamp Instructor

7/2019, 1/2023

Harvard Medical School Anatomy Instructor

Publications

11/2023

Eckhoff JA, Rosman G, Altieri MS, Speidel S, Stoyanov D, Anvari M, Meier-Han L, März K, Jannin P, Pugh C, Wagner M, Witkowski ER, Shaw P, Madani A, Ward TM, Filicori F, Padoy N, Talamini M, Meireles OR. SAGES consensus recommendations on surgical video data use, structure, and exploration (for research in artificial intelligence, clinical quality improvement, and surgical education). Surgical Endoscopy. 2023;37(11):8690-8707. doi:10.1007/s00464-023-10288-3 (pdf)

7/2023

Ban Y, Eckhoff JA, Ward TM, Hashimoto DA, Meireles OR, Rus D, Rosman G. Concept graph neural networks for surgical video understanding. IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging. Published online 2023. doi:10.1109/tmi.2023.3299518 (pdf)

7/2023

Ward TM, LaLiberte S, Ricciardi R, Francone TD. Robotic Low Anterior Resection: Avoiding a Stoma in the Deep Pelvis. Dis Colon Rectum. 2023;66(7):e756. doi:10.1097/DCR.0000000000002527 (video)

9/2022

Ward TM, Hashimoto DA, Ban Y, Rosman G, Meireles OR. Artificial intelligence prediction of cholecystectomy operative course from automated identification of gallbladder inflammation. Surg Endosc. 2022;36(9):6832-6840. doi:10.1007/s00464-022-09009-z (pdf)

5/2022

Ward TM, Cauley CE, Stafford CE, Goldstone RN, Bordeianou LG, Kunitake H, Berger DL, Ricciardi R. Tumour genotypes account for survival differences in right‐ and left‐sided colon cancers. Colorectal Disease. 2022;24(5):601-610. doi:10.1111/codi.16060 (pdf)

3/2022

Ban Y, Rosman G, Eckhoff JA, Ward T, Hashimoto D, Kondo T, Meireles O, Rus D. SUPR-GAN: SUrgical PRediction GAN for Event Anticipation in Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgery. IEEE Robot Autom Lett. 2022;7(2):5741-5748. doi:10.1109/LRA.2022.3156856 (pdf)

9/2021

Meireles OR, Rosman G, Altieri MS, Carin L, Hager G, Madani A, Padoy N, Pugh CM, Sylla P, Ward TM, Hashimoto DA. SAGES consensus recommendations on an annotation framework for surgical video. Surg Endosc. 2021;35(9):4918-4929. doi:10.1007/s00464-021-08578-9 (pdf)

8/2021

Ward TM, Mascagni P, Madani A, Padoy N, Perretta S, Hashimoto DA. Surgical Data Science and Artificial Intelligence for Surgical Education. J Surg Oncol. 2021;124(2):221-230. doi:10.1002/jso.26496 (pdf)

8/2021

El Hechi M, Ward TM, An GC, Maurer LR, El Moheb M, Tsoulfas G, Kaafarani HM. Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Surgical Science: Reality Versus Hype. Journal of Surgical Research. 2021;264:A1-A9. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2021.01.046 (pdf)

7/2021

Ward TM, Hashimoto DA, Ban Y, Rattner DW, Inoue H, Lillemoe KD, Rus DL, Rosman G, Meireles OR. Automated operative phase identification in peroral endoscopic myotomy. Surg Endosc. 2021;35(7):4008-4015. doi:10.1007/s00464-020-07833-9 (pdf)

5/2021

Ban Y, Rosman G, Ward T, Hashimoto D, Kondo T, Meireles O, Rus D. Aggregating Long-Term Context for Learning Laparoscopic and Robot-Assisted Surgical Workflows. In: 2021 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA). IEEE; 2021:14531-14538. doi:10.1109/ICRA48506.2021.9561770 (pdf)

5/2021

Ward TM, Mascagni P, Ban Y, Rosman G, Padoy N, Meireles O, Hashimoto D. Computer vision in surgery. Surgery. 2021;169(5):1253-1256. doi:10.1016/j.surg.2020.10.039 (pdf)

1/2021

Ward TM, Fer DM, Ban Y, Rosman G, Meireles OR, Hashimoto DA. Challenges in surgical video annotation. Computer Assisted Surgery. 2021;26(1):58-68. doi:10.1080/24699322.2021.1937320 (pdf)

9/2020

Hashimoto DA, Ward TM, Meireles OR. The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Surgery. Advances in Surgery. 2020;54:89-101. doi:10.1016/j.yasu.2020.05.010 (pdf)

Book Chapters

8/2024

Ward TM, Bordeianou LG. Bowel Function after Laparoscopic Posterior Sutured Rectopexy versus Ventral Mesh Rectopexy for Rectal Prolapse: A Double-Blind, Randomised Single-Centre Study. In: 50 Landmark Papers Every Colorectal Surgeon Should Know. 1st ed. pp 1-5. CRC Press; doi:10.1201/9780429285714 (docx)

1/2024

Ward TM, Bordeianou LG. Operative versus non-operative management of outlet obstruction. Difficult Decisions in Colorectal Surgery. 2nd ed. pp 521-528. (pdf)

6/2021

Ward TM. Practical Considerations in Utilization of Computer Vision. In: Artificial Intelligence in Surgery: Understanding the Role of AI in Surgical Practice. 1st ed. McGraw-Hill Education. ISBN-13: 978-1260452730. (pdf)

8/2020

Ward TM, Meireles O. The Cognitive Revolution. In: Atallah S, ed. Digital Surgery. Springer International Publishing; 2021:1-9. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-49100-0_1 (pdf)

1/2020

Witkowski E, Ward T. Artificial intelligence assisted surgery. In: Bohr A, Memarzadeh K, eds. Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare. Academic Press; 2020:179-202. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-818438-7.00008-3 (pdf)

Invited Talks/Panels

4/2023

Advances and Controversies in Benign Colorectal Surgery, Will Artificial Intelligence Help Surgeons Prevent Complications?.

Oral presentation.

12/2021

High Yield Topics for the ABSITE, Colorectal and Small Bowel Diseases.

Oral presentation on colorectal and small bowel diseases.

9/2021

SAGES 2021 Meeting, Basics of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Computer Vision.

Panelist in the “Reimagining Surgery Through AI and Deep Learning - from Video to Big Data” session and an oral presenter.

6/2021

IPEG 2021 Meeting, Basics of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Computer Vision.

Panelist and oral presenter.

5/2021

IRCAD Masterclass: Flexible Endoscopy, AI Technologies in Endoscopy.

4/2021

ASE Annual Meeting, Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe.

Panel co-chair.

3/2021

AIMed Clinician Series: Surgery, ICU, Neurosciences, Machine Learning and Computer Vision in Surgery.

Panelist and oral presenter.

3/2021

AIMed Clinician Series: Surgery, ICU, Neurosciences, Real Time Applications of AI in Surgical Care.

Panelist.

2/2021

University College London AI in Medicine Series, Applications of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision in Laparoscopic and Endoscopic Surgery.

11/2020

Glasgow University Surgical Society National Undergraduate Conference, Artificial Intelligence and Surgery: Past, Present, and Future.

9/2020

AIMed Surgery, Computer Vision and Surgery.

Panelist and oral presenter.

8/2020

ASE Annual Meeting, AI for Real-time Feedback and Evaluation in Surgery.

Panelist and oral presenter for the Artificial Intelligence panel in the Association for Surgical Education’s annual meeting.

7/2020

AIMed Talks, Key Trends in Surgical AI.

Panelist.

2/2020

Academic Surgical Congress, AI and Image Recognition: A Video is Worth a Thousand Words.

Panelist and oral presenter for the “Artifical Intelligence, Machine Learning, & Surgical Science: Reality vs. Hype” session.

7/2019

NOSCAR Annual Conference, Automated Intra-operative POEM Analysis: A Machine Learning Approach.

Oral presentation on machine learning and computer vision approaches to video segmentation of POEM operations.

Oral and Poster Presentations

6/2024

ASCRS Meeting, Perioperative Management of Intra-Abdominal Abscesses in Crohn’s Disease: Diagnose, Drain, Divert?.

Oral quick shot presentation at the ASCRS 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting.

2/2024

ECCO, Class 4 Fistulizing Perineal Disease after Proctectomy for Crohn’s Disease: A Multicentre Study.

Poster presentation at the 19th Congress of ECCO.

4/2022

ASCRS Meeting, An Analysis of Lower Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Malpractice Claims.

Poster presentation at the ASCRS 2022 Annual Scientific Meeting.

9/2021

SAGES Meeting, Artificial Intelligence Prediction of Cholecystectomy Operative Course from Automated Identification of Gallbladder Inflammation.

“Best Papers” session podium presentation at the 2021 SAGES Annual Meeting.

9/2021

SAGES Meeting, Artificial Intelligence Generated Analytics from Laparoscopic Video Estimates Operative Experience.

Poster presentation at the 2021 SAGES Annual Meeting.

9/2021

SAGES Meeting, Laparoscopic management of acute gastric volvulus herniated through the relaxing incision diaphragm defect from previous paraesophageal hernia repair.

Operative video presentation at the 2021 SAGES Annual Meeting.

4/2021

ASCRS Meeting, Tumor Genotypes Account for Survival Differences in Right and Left-sided Colon Cancers.

Oral plenary presentation in the Colorectal Cancer and Other Neoplasia session of the ASCRS 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting.

4/2021

Annual Meeting of the ASE, Quantifying the Operative Learning Curve: Personalized Procedural Metrics for Residents.

Poster presentation at the 41st Annual meeting of the Association for Surgical Education.

2/2021

Academic Surgical Congress, Predicting Cholecystectomy Operative Course from Gallbladder Inflammation.

Oral presentation that explored the association between gallbladder inflammation and intra-operative events and duration.

12/2020

Massachusetts Chapter of ACS Meeting, Automated Operative Step Identification in Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy.

Poster presentation on application of AI and CV methods to analyse POEM videos.

10/2020

ACS Clinical Conference, Training with Pooled Annotations from Multiple Surgeons has no Effect on a Deep Learning Artificial Intelligence Model’s Performance.

Poster presentation that demonstrated combining multiple annotators’ annotations for different videos rather than having a single annotator annotate all videos leads to equivalent performance for AI model’s analyzing surgical video.

10/2020

MGH Clinical Research Day, Automated Operative Step Identification in Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy.

Poster presentation on application of AI and CV methods to analyse POEM videos.

8/2020

SAGES Meeting, Automated Operative Step Identification in Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy.

Poster presentation on application of AI and CV methods to analyse POEM videos.

8/2020

ASCRS Meeting, Current Practice Patterns of Care Between Surgeons and Non-Surgeons for Benign Anorectal Conditions.

Poster presentation analyzing benign anorectal condition treatment across different providers using data abstracted from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS).

4/2019

Boston Surgical Society Case Presentation Competition, 69-year-old male with weight loss and ascites.

Oral presentation voted second-place in case presentation competition among all Boston-area residencies.

10/2013

Medical Student Research Symposium, Determination of Seat Belt Use and Positioining with Three-Dimensional CT Fat Volume Rendering in CIREN Frontal Crash Cases.

Poster presentation over a novel application of a 3D radiographic technique that localizes blunt injuries sustained during motor vehicle collisions by identification of trauma to subcutaneous tissues.

9/2013

CIREN Research Conference, Determination of Seat Belt Use and Positioning with Three-Dimensional CT Fat Volume Rendering in CIREN Frontal Crash Cases.

Oral presentation on my discovery of the novel application of the above technique at the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network Research Conference (CIREN), a national meeting composed of both goverment and industry professionals.

Awards

Residency

6/2023

Tufts University School of Medicine Excellence in Teaching Citation

9/2022

MGH Medical Student Resident Teaching Award in Surgery

2/2017 - 2/2023

Top Residency ABSITE Score

99th percentile on the annual in-service examination every year of residency.

4/2019

Second Place, Boston Surgical Society Case Presentation

Medical School

10/2015

Bowman Scholar.

Five Bowman Scholars per medical school class are selected at the conclusion of their third year of study in recognition of their clinical excellence and exemplification of integrity, enthusiasm, and compassion.

5/2015

Alpha Omega Alpha.

10/2014

Bondsmen Pin.

Nominated by classmates for demonstrating qualities on the wards such as teamwork, selflessness, outstanding performance, and duty to patients.

Undergraduate

5/2012

Phi Beta Kappa.

5/2012

Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Student, University of Georgia.

Faculty nominated award for scholastic excellence given to 27 students in their final year of study from a class of approximately 4,000.

8/2008 - 5/2012

Presidential Scholar, University of Georgia.

Semester grade point average of 4.00. Earned during 8 semesters.

8/2008 - 5/2012

Foundation Fellowship, University of Georgia.

University’s foremost undergraduate scholarship awarded to 20 first-year students annually. Includes a stipend that covers cost of attendance, individual travel-study grants, spring group travel-study, research and academic conference grants, and post-first-year Maymester study abroad program at Oxford University.

Miscellaneous

12/2007

Eagle Scout