Surgeon in Chief
Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital/University Hospitals
Edward M. Barksdale, Jr., MD, is the Robert J. Izant, Jr., MD, Professor and Surgeon-in-Chief at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital/University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve School of Medicine since 2007.
An honors graduate of and All-American Athlete at Yale University (1980), Dr. Barksdale received his medical degree from Harvard University (1984). He completed internship, residency and fellowship in General Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital (1991). During this period, he also worked as a Visiting Scientist at the Biogen Corporation in Cambridge Massachusetts (1987-89). He served as the prestigious Chief of the West Surgery Service and Clinical Instructor in Surgery at Harvard Medical School (1991-1992). He then completed a fellowship in Pediatric Surgery at Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio (1994). He began his academic career at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine rising from Assistant Professor to Professor with tenure (1994-2007).
Dr. Barksdale has been a member and leader of numerous prestigious surgical organizations. He is the Immediate Past-President of the American Pediatric Surgery Association (APSA). He has received local and national recognition for his clinical excellence. Dr. Barksdale was named as an Inaugural Member of the Master Clinicians at University Hospitals for clinical excellence (2018). He has also excelled in medical education and mentorship of medical students and surgical trainees. A recipient of numerous teaching/mentorship awards and recognitions including selection as the Commencement Speaker at UPSOM (1998), Inaugural Member Academy of Master Educators UPSOM (2006) and White Coat Ceremony Speaker (2011) CWRUSOM and recipient of Kaiser-Permanente Clinical Excellence in Teaching Kaiser-Permanente Clinical Teaching-Highest Clinical Faculty Teaching Award (2012) CWRUSOM and induction into the American College of Surgeons Academy of Master Educators (2022), the highest award for teaching given by the ACS. He greatly values his role as an educator.
He is the Co-Founder of the Antifragility Initiative, a novel holistic, person-centered, pediatric violence intervention program based at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital supported by more than $3.1 million Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grant, Cleveland Foundation, and other local philanthropy. Invited to the White House by President Biden, he was honored for his enduring commitment to ending gun violence and for serving as a purveyor of hope for communities.
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