Dr. Susan Galandiuk

Dr. Susan Galandiuk is Professor of Surgery at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Kentucky, USA; she is also Director of the Price Institute of Surgical Research and of the Section of Colorectal Surgery.

Dr. Galandiuk is a native of New York State and attended medical school in Wuerzburg, Germany. Her general surgical training was at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and Colorectal Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. She is a member of the American Surgical Association, the Society of University Surgeons, and the Southern Surgical Association. Dr. Galandiuk has served as Honorary Professor of Translational Surgical Research at Queen Mary University. She is an Honorary Fellow of the German Surgical Society and a past president of the Society of Pelvic Surgeons. 

Dr. Galandiuk is the author of numerous peer-reviewed research and clinical publications, book chapters, and books; and currently serves on the Editorial Boards of Annals of Surgery, Surgery, The American Journal of Surgery and Surgical Infections. She is Editor-in-Chief of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons’ professional journal, Diseases of the Colon & Rectum. 

Dr. Galandiuk’s primary clinical interests are in inflammatory bowel disease and advanced and recurrent rectal cancer. Her basic research focuses upon molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis in inflammatory bowel disease.

Dr. Jorden joined the University of Louisville in 2004. He has a passion for robotic surgery and was the first general or colorectal surgeon in the state of Kentucky to complete a robotic procedure. Dr. Jorden formed the robotic surgery program at the University of Louisville in 2006 and currently serves as Director of Robotic surgery. 

He has an interest in surgical education and serves as Assistant Program Director for the Colorectal Surgery Fellowship. He has been part of training numerous fellows and residents. Clinical interests include minimally invasive surgery, colorectal cancer, endoscopy, inflammatory bowel disease and anorectal surgery. 

He enjoys running, golfing and spending time with family. 

An Associate Professor of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Russ Farmer has been with the University Of Louisville Department Surgery for 13 years. Originally from Texas, Dr. Farmer came to the Bluegrass State for surgical training and has remained ever since. 

His clinical interests include robotic and minimally invasive surgery, inflammatory bowel disease, and sacral nerve neuromodulation. Under his direction, the University of Louisville is one of only two sites participating in prospective longitudinal outcomes research on sacral neuromodulation through industry grant funding in the U.S. 

Dr. Farmer also serves as the Assistant Dean for Clinical Skills at the University of Louisville School of Medicine – directing the clinical educational experiences of all medical students. Dr. Farmer is the current medical director of the Paris Simulation Center, providing support for simulated patient encounters throughout all levels of medical education. He is happiest at home with his wife and two young sons.

With appointments in both the School of Medicine and School of Public Health, Dr. C. Tyler Ellis is both a clinical colorectal surgeon and health service researcher. He is also a member of the Cancer Care and Control Program at the James Graham Brown Cancer Center and Price Institute of Surgical Research.  

Dr. Ellis received the majority of his medical training in the Carolinas and completed his colorectal surgical fellowship at the University of Massachusetts. He serves as a Merit Reviewer for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), is a member of the Publication Committee for the Association of Academic Surgery, as well as, a reviewer for numerous journals. 

Dr. Ellis’ primary clinical interests are colorectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. His research interests focus on the impact of care coordination, provider factors, and health care organization on the delivery of multidisciplinary cancer care and patient outcomes. He is currently the PI on a grant by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) State-University Partnership, which will study colorectal cancer surveillance patterns in the CRC survivors throughout Kentucky. 

Dr. Sandra Kavalukas is our newest member of the team. Originally from Pittsburgh, she came to Louisville after completing her General Surgery Residency at Vanderbilt University and Colorectal Surgery Fellowship at Cleveland Clinic Florida.

Her clinical interests include inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colorectal and anal cancer, constipation/motility disorders, diverticulitis, and anorectal problems. She performs both laparoscopic and robotic surgery. With an academic appointment at the University of Louisville, she is involved in educating medical students as well as the clinical training of residents and fellows.

Academically, her background research is in wound healing and fibrotic/inflammatory pathways, which she intends on extending into the realm of inflammatory bowel disease as well as exploring interactions with the microbiome. She sits on numerous committees for the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgery and is a regular manuscript reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals in the colorectal field.