Alex Westerband
Biography
Alex Westerband, MD, MBA, RPhS, FACS, FSVS spent many years as a clinician researcher and a surgical educator for the students and surgical residents of University of Arizona where he became an Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery, and he is now a Professor of Clinical Specialty of the Arizona State University (ASU) John Shufeldt School of Medicine and Advanced Medical Engineering. A native of Haiti where he performed his initial graduate education at the State University in Port-au-Prince, his international journey began in France where he received additional degrees. He holds a Diploma in Surgery from the University Louis Pasteur of Strasbourg, France. He also earned certifications in Biology and Sports Medicine from the same university. In the United States, he is a double Board-Certified vascular surgeon, being a diplomate in General Surgery and Vascular Surgery by the American Board of Surgery, following completion of a surgical training at Long Islang Jewish Medical Center/Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University Hospitals of Cleveland and University of Arizona. He also holds an MBA from George Washington University in the District of Columbia.
Dr. Westerband has often been recognized by his colleagues for his dedication, pursuit of knowledge, and commitment to innovation. At the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS) where he also served as Chief of Vascular Surgery, he was the first at this veteran facility to establish a program for the endovascular management of abdominal aortic aneurysms, and received a special award in Washington DC for their success and merit during participation in the OVER trial (VA Cooperative Study #498). He also served as Chief of Vascular Surgery, as a member of the Executive Committee, member of the Governing Board of Northwest Allied Physicians, and Chair of the Bioethics Committee at Northwest Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona.
Throughout the years, Dr Westerband has authored or co-authored more than forty peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. His work was presented at several conferences across the country. He has also served as a reviewer for peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Surgical Research, Annals of Vascular Surgery, Surgery, Kidney International and a peer-reviewed for Grant proposals, VA Cooperative Studies, Washington, D.C. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of the Society for Vascular Surgery, the Western Vascular Society, the International Society of Endovascular Specialists, Alpha Omega Alpha, the American Venous Forum and the American Vein and Lymphatic Society. His interests and expertise in vascular diseases and vascular research have focused on peripheral arterial interventions and the problem of myointimal hyperplasia, carotid interventions for stroke prevention, and treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms. During the earlier explosive era of endovascular repair of aortic aneurysms, he was actively engaged with his collaborators at the University of Arizona in a project consisting of the development of a computational tool for the assessment of endovascular graft failure mechanisms. During the years spent at University of Arizona and SAVAHCS, DR Westerband was a participating investigator or sub investigator in vascular research projects related to cell adhesion and vascular remodeling, Cadherin Regulation and Function in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells (as a collaborator), and clinical research projects, including the PIVOTAL trial (Protocol # VS-2003-02), the CARP trial (VA Cooperative Study # 411, The Natural History of large Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (VA Cooperative Study # 417).