Stefan D. Holubar, MD, MS, FACS, FASCRS

Scott R. Steele, MD, MBA, FACS, FASCRS

It is my pleasure to introduce Dr. Stefan Holubar as this volume's guest editor. Dr. Holubar is a staff Colorectal Surgeon and Director of IBD Multidisciplinary Team Conference and IBD Surgical Research at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. He was born and raised in Old Field, NY, near Stony Brook University, where his Swedish mother and German in-laws both still live on the same street in Old Field. Stefan received his undergraduate degree from Stony Brook with a dual major in biochemistry and psychology. He then attended medical school at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, graduating in 2002. He then completed his general surgery residency training at North Shore-Long Island Jewish in 2007, followed by a 2-year special research fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, ultimately receiving a Masters in Clinical and Translational Research. Following this, he finished his colon and rectal surgery fellowship at Mayo, and took a full-time faculty position at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. He served as the Division Chief of Colorectal Surgery at Dartmouth, prior to joining the Cleveland Clinic in 2017. Stefan enjoys advanced surgical techniques including robotics, enhanced recovery, surgical site infection prevention, as well as education and research. Stefan is one of the emerging leaders in surgery in clinical and translational research and is working on breakthroughs in the pathophysiology of rectal cancer and treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

I have had the privilege of getting to know Stefan through interactions within ASCRS, and I have always been impressed by his passion for surgery, dedication to education, and outstanding ability to communicate. It was an honor to bring him here to Cleveland, where he has been instrumental in enhancing the care of patients with IBD, as well as directing our IBD research. He and his wife Susanne have three children—Magnus, Sabina-Rose, and Tobin—and they all enjoy international travel, downhill skiing, knee-boarding/tubing, hiking, enjoying the natural world, and reading.

On behalf of the readers and staff of Clinics of Colon and Rectal Surgery, I sincerely thank Dr. Stefan for serving as a guest editor and for providing us with a superb issue on dealing with Big Data.