Dr. Francis Spitz named chair of surgery at CMSRU
September 26
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU) is pleased to announce that Francis Spitz, MD, has been appointed chair of surgery at CMSRU. In addition, Dr. Spitz will serve as chief of the department of surgery and medical director for the surgical services institute at Cooper University Health Care (CUHC).
“Dr. Spitz is an outstanding surgeon, educator, and leader whose dedication to patient care and academic medicine makes him an ideal choice for these important roles,” said CMSRU Dean Annette C. Reboli, MD. “I am confident that he will continue to inspire and mentor future generations of surgeons, while advancing the missions of both CMSRU and Cooper.”
Dr. Spitz, who has been part of the CMSRU and Cooper communities since 2009, has built an impressive career that spans clinical practice, academic medicine, and leadership. He attended the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and completed his general surgery residency at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr. Spitz further specialized by completing both research and surgical oncology fellowships at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. In 2021, he earned a master’s in health care management from Harvard University.
During his time at Cooper, Dr. Spitz has held numerous leadership roles, including vice chair of the department of surgery, division head for general surgery, and deputy director for MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper. He has contributed to the medical education mission of CMSRU as a professor of surgery, playing a key role in advancing the school’s academic and research agendas.
Dr. Spitz’s research focuses on surgical oncology, with expertise in gastrointestinal, esophageal, pancreatic, gastric, hepatobiliary cancers, as well as melanoma. He has nearly 100 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters to his name, and he frequently serves as a speaker and moderator at national medical conferences.