Assistant Professor in the Division of Plastic Surgery Prasanth Patcha, M.D., MEng (left), as well as Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Clinical Assistant Professor Omar Rokayak, D.O. (middle), and Assistant Professor Jon Winkler, M.D., Ph.D. (right), have been named fellows of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), effective Oct. 24.

Members of the ACS are referred to as "Fellows." These faculty will be able to use the letters “FACS (Fellow, American College of Surgeons)” after their names as a designation that their education and training, professional qualifications, surgical competence, and ethical conduct have passed a rigorous evaluation, and have been found to be consistent with the high standards established and demanded by the College.

Patcha performs a broad range of surgery and has a special interest in reconstructive microsurgery. He holds board certifications from both the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

Rokayak, an active duty member of the Air Force, completed his residency at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital 2018 and then joined the Air Force Special Operations Surgical Team (SOST) team stationed at UAB. He received his medical degree from Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Following residency, Winkler served in the Air Force with SOST. His last three years in the Air Force were spent serving as the detachment commander of the first SOST team stationed at UAB where he was appointed as a clinical assistant professor. Winkler has interests in clinical management of surgical patients, military and tactical surgical care, and trauma critical care.

“Each of these faculty should be proud of this accomplishment in their career,” said Herbert Chen, M.D., FACS, Fay Fletcher Kerner Endowed Chair. “Becoming a Fellow in the ACS is an honor.”

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery and has more than 84,000 members as the largest organization of surgeons in the world.