B. Mark Evers, M.D., director of the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center, professor of surgery and the McDowell Cancer Foundation Endowed Chair in the UK College of Medicine, has been named president-elect of the American Surgical Association (ASA). A surgical oncologist and physician-scientist with more than three decades of research and clinical experience, Evers will help guide the ASA in its mission to advance surgical science, education and patient care across the nation.
The ASA, founded in 1880, is the nation's oldest and most prestigious surgical organization, drawing members from leading academic medical institutions across the U.S. and around the world. Evers was elected at the organization's 146th annual meeting in Seattle this April and will serve as president-elect in 2026-27 before assuming the presidency in 2027-28.
"It is an honor to be elected by my peers to serve in this role," Evers said. "The ASA has long been the premier home for surgical science and scholarship, and I look forward to building on that legacy by working alongside colleagues who share a commitment to excellence, innovation and the highest standard of care for patients."
Evers has led the UK Markey Cancer Center since 2009. Under his direction, Markey earned its National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation in 2013 and in 2023 achieved NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center status, a designation held by only 57 cancer centers nationwide. Prior to his recruitment to UK, Evers was the Robertson-Poth Distinguished Chair in General Surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas, and the director of the UTMB Cancer Center.
Evers has published more than 450 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and reviews. His laboratory at UK has been funded continuously by the National Institutes of Health for more than 30 years, focusing on how signaling pathways drive the growth and spread of colorectal cancer. He also co-leads two NCI training grants that support graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and surgeon-scientists at Markey.
Evers is a past president of the Society of University Surgeons (SUS) and the Southern Surgical Association and previously served as treasurer of the ASA. He has received numerous awards and honors including the Flance-Karl research award from the ASA, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the SUS and an Outstanding Alumnus Award from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. Evers is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and in 2020, was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors medical scientists in the U.S. can receive. He also serves on the board of directors of the Association of American Cancer Institutes.
