Arthur M. Shipley Award for Best Scientific Paper

Dr. Arthur M. Shipley, 1878-1955, is regarded as one of the outstanding teachers of surgery of his time. He was elected to membership in the SSA in 1927. In response to a donation by one of his residents, the council established the Shipley Award to honor the best scientific paper presentation by a new member. Each year since 1957 the SSA has awarded this gold medal to a presenter in their first two years of membership. The Shipley Award has become one of the major highlights of the annual meeting and known as a distinction of astute surgical scholarship.

View past winners of the Shipley Award —grouped by decade.

• 2020
• 2010
• 2000
• 1990
• 1980
• 1970
• 1960
• 1950

Claude Organ, M.D.—Courtesy The Organ Family

Claude Organ, M.D. Lectureship

Applications for the 2024 Claude Organ Lectureship are currently being accepted. Please email your letter (application) with a brief background of your proposed topic, in a Word document to Kate Peach at katherine.peach@utsouthwestern.edu for consideration.

Download the Claude Organ, M.D., Lectureship Application Information and Guidelines

The application deadline is June 30th, 2023.

2023 Lecture, "How to Succeed When No One Else Looks Like You” by Dr. Andrea Hayes-Jordan
Hosted by Dr. Keith A. Delman at Emory University School of Medicine

2022 Lecture, "Altitude, Aptitude and Attitude: Developing and Securing the Pipeline" by Dr. Edward M. Barksdale, Jr.
Hosted by Dr. Walter J. Pories at East Carolina University

2021 Lecture, "Levi Watkins Jr.’s Legacy: Surgeon, Mentor, Advocate" by Dr. John Tarpley
Hosted by Dr. Ken Sharp at Vanderbilt University Medical Center

2019 Lecture, "A Non-Linear Career in Surgery" by Dr. Haile Debas
Hosted by Dr. Fabrizio Michelassi at Weil Cornell Medical Center

2018 Lecture, "Leadership for Surgeons: A Mosaic" by Dr. Patricia Turner
Hosted by Dr. Allen Kirk at Duke University Medical Center

2017 Lecture, "Signatures: What Can Sensors and Motion Tracking Tell Us About Surgical Performance?" by Dr. Carla Pugh
Hosted by Dr. Prabhakar Baliga at Medical University South Carolina

2016 Lecture, "Evolving Therapies for Pancreatic Cancer from the UAB/UMN Pancreatic Spore" by Dr. Selwyn Vickers
Hosted by Dr. Dr. Bradley Collins at Duke University Medical Center

2015 Lecture, "Understanding Health Disparities in Minority Cancer Patients" by Dr. Steve Stain
Hosted by Dr. Will Chapman and Dr. Timothy Eberlein at Washington University Medical Center

2013 Inaugural Lecture, "American Surgery and Healthcare Reform: Lingering Challenges"
Hosted by Dr. L.D. Britt at The University of Alabama at Birmingham

SSA Scholarship in History of Surgery

The Southern Surgical Association has approved an annual scholarship to support a member in the pursuit of a subject in the history of surgery. The subject may relate to an individual, a place, an event or the development of scientific information leading to a mechanical device.

The member who is awarded the scholarship should present the paper and submit a manuscript (at the time of presentation) for publication in the Transactions of the Southern Surgical Association. The manuscript should acknowledge the source of financial support for the study by including this credit line:
"Funding for this study was provided by the Joseph M. Donald Endowment for the Archival Collection of the Southern Surgical Association." The funds will be awarded to the member at the time of the presentation.

The period of study can be carried out at the library or institution of the scholar’s choosing.

Applications will be reviewed by the Scholarship Committee.

History of Surgery applications will be accepted beginning April 1, 2023 and the deadline to submit is June 30, 2023, by midnight EST. The HOS scholarship application selected will be presented at the 2024 SSA Annual Meeting at The Breakers.

Joseph M. McDonald History of Surgery Lectures —grouped by decade.

• 2020
• 2010
• 2000