Elliot Wakeam, M.D.
Mesothelioma.net content reviewer and editor
- Medical degree from Jefferson Medical College, 2010, graduated magna cum laude
- Completed residency and fellowships in thoracic surgery and lung transplant at the University of Toronto and Toronto General Hospital
- Master’s in Public Health from Harvard School of Public Health
- Assistant professor, University of Michigan, Michigan Medicine Thoracic Surgery Clinic at the Taubman Center and Michigan Medicine Medical Procedures Unit at University Hospital
- Current research includes clinical trials in lung transplants and thoracic cancers, such as pleural mesothelioma
Dr. Wakeam is an assistant professor in thoracic surgery at the University of Michigan Health System. He attended Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and graduated magna cum laude with membership in the National Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.[1]
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Currently on the faculty at the University of Michigan, Dr. Wakeam is an assistant professor who focuses on minimally invasive thoracic surgery and has a particular interest in thoracic oncology and complex lung transplant. He treats esophageal cancer, lung cancer, mediastinal tumors, sarcoma, and mesothelioma, among others. He is also a part of the University of Michigan Lung Transplant Program. He is currently working on implementing the innovative SMART protocol for treating pleural mesothelioma at the University of Michigan.
Experience
Following medical school, Dr. Wakeam returned home to Toronto for a general surgical and thoracic surgical residency at the University of Toronto and Princess Margaret Cancer Center. He also earned a master’s degree in public health at the same time through the Harvard School of Public Health.[2] During his residency he earned the Resident Mentor Award. This honor demonstrated success as a resident mentor and a role model in his graduating class.[1]
Dr. Wakeam’s fellowship work included thoracic surgery and lung transplantation at Toronto General Hospital. He also completed a fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Center for Surgery and Public Health.[1]
Areas of Specialty and Research
During his time at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Dr. Wakeam saw many patients with pleural mesothelioma, a challenging cancer to treat. He was also a part of a pioneering new protocol for treating these patients, called the SMART protocol. SMART resulted in improved survival times for patients.[3] Still limited to patients, Dr. Wakeam is now working to bring the SMART protocol to the University of Michigan for further study, especially in combination with immunotherapy, and to provide patients with more options.
In addition to the SMART protocol, Dr. Wakeam’s research interests include how healthcare is delivered, with a focus on efficiency and quality; strategies surgeons use to rescue patients from complications while recovering from procedures; surgical treatments for small cell lung cancer, neuroendocrine lung cancer, thymoma, and breast cancer in the chest wall; and lung transplantation.[4]
Dr. Wakeam is Board Certified in surgery and is a member of the American Association of Thoracic Surgery, the Canadian Association of Thoracic Surgery, the American College of Surgeons, and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada in both general and thoracic surgery and is certified by the American Board of Surgery.[2]