Mary Killackey, MD is the Robert & Viola Lobrano Professor and Chair of Surgery and Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics at Tulane University School of Medicine. She was appointed Chair of Surgery in May 2016 and since that time has exponentially grown the department in all missions. Dr. Killackey received her undergraduate and medical degrees from Columbia University. She completed her General Surgery residency at the University of Rochester, Strong Memorial. From there, she went on to complete the Abdominal Organ Transplant Fellowship at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. She was recruited to New Orleans in 2006 to join the team of abdominal transplant surgeons and by 2009 was named the Director of the Pediatric and Adult Kidney Transplant program. She also assumed the Directorship of Pediatric Kidney Transplant at the Children’s Hospital of New Orleans. In recognition of her leadership, she was accepted into the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine fellowship in 2017. Later that year, she was inducted into AOA Medical Honors Society and in 2019, elected into the Leonard Tow Gold Humanism Society. Dr. Killackey’s passion is promoting a thriving work environment which prioritizes professionalism and allows her the opportunity to facilitate the careers of her faculty, trainees and students. She and the department are leading the effort to promote professionalism at the medical school. She is quite active outside of her own institution, most visibly within UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) and the Society of Surgical Chairs. She is deeply committed to fostering the careers and leadership skill building of women leaders and is grateful for the opportunity to bring these efforts to the national stage through the Women’s Subcommittee of the Society of Surgical Chairs.