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David T. Efron, MD

Thomas M. Scalea, MD Distinguished Professor of Trauma

Academic Title:

Professor

Primary Appointment:

Surgery

Administrative Title:

Medical Director, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center; Chief of Trauma

Additional Title:

Chief of Trauma Medical Director, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center

Location:

22 S. Greene Street Baltimore, MD 21201

Phone (Primary):

410-328-3495

Fax:

410-328-6382

Education and Training

EDUCATION

1986-1990 BA, Brown University, Providence, RI

1990-1994 MD, Brown University, Providence, RI

 

POST GRADUATE EDUCATION AND TRAINING

1994-1995 Intern, Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD

1995-2002 Resident, Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD

2002-2003 Assistant Chief of Service, Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD (Specialty training program certificate for advanced gastrointestinal surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Surgery)

2003-2004 Fellow, Surgical Critical Care, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD

Biosketch

In September of 2020 Dr. Efron joined the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine as a Professor in the Department of Surgery and as the Medical Director and Chief of Trauma in the Program in Trauma at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center.

Prior to joining us, he was the Chief of the Division of Acute Care Surgery (encompassing Trauma, Emergency Surgery and Surgical Critical Care) in The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Department of Surgery.  As a Professor of Surgery, Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine and Emergency Medicine at Johns Hopkins, he held the Jacob C. Handelsman Professorship of Abdominal Surgery.

 Dr. Efron graduated from Brown University in 1990 with an undergraduate degree in Biology and matriculated from the Brown University School of Medicine in 1994.  He completed his Surgery residency training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2002.  This included three years of basic science lab research on gastrointestinal wound healing.  Dr. Efron received a certificate in Advanced Specialty Training in Gastrointestinal Surgery under the tutelage of Dr. John L. Cameron and subsequently continued his training with a year as a Surgical Critical Care fellow at the Johns Hopkins Hospital under Dr. Pamela Lipsett.

 Dr. Efron joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2004.  In 2007 he was appointed Chief of the Division of Acute Care Surgery and the Director of Adult Trauma Services for the Johns Hopkins Hospital.   Dr. Efron was promoted to full Professor of Surgery in 2016. Starting in 2016, as Vice Chair of Acute Care Surgery and Clinical Care Integration, Dr. Efron led the integration and harmonization of the Acute Care Surgery practice between Johns Hopkins East Baltimore and the other Johns Hopkins medical campuses. Dr. Efron was also the Medical Director for the Johns Hopkins Hospital Capacity Command Center.  This is a state-of-the-art initiative to improve impatient flow throughout the hospital (including all specialties) and system and enhance the delivery of patient care.

 Dr. Efron is a member of the American College of Surgeons, the American Surgical Association, the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the American Associate for the Surgery of Trauma, and the Society of Critical Care Medicine, to name a few. He has served as a reviewer for 9 journals, serves on a number of committees for the associations/societies he is a member. Locally, he is currently a member of the Organizing Committee for the Annual Trauma Conference for the Maryland Committee on Trauma and a member of the Board of Directors, Maryland Chapter of the American Trauma Society. In his capacity as Chief of Trauma and Medical Director for the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center he will have oversight into the clinical day-to-day running of the center. He services on a number of committees within Shock Trauma as well as the University of Maryland Medical Center.

 

 

 

Research/Clinical Keywords

Abdominal, Hernia, Gastrointestinal, wound healing, Trauma, interpersonal violence, outcomes disparities,

Highlighted Publications

Efron DT, Haider A, Chang D, Haut E, Brooke B, Cornwell E.  The alarming surge in non-survivable urban trauma and the case for violence prevention.  Arch Surg. 2006; 141:800-805.

Efron DT, Sorock G, Schneider E, Mackenzie E, Cornwell EE, Chang D, Haut ER, Jurkovich GJ.  Preinjury statin use is associated with improved in-hospital survival in elderly trauma patients.  J Trauma. 2008; 64:66-74.

Haider AH, Saleem T, Leow JJ, Villegas CV, Kisat M, Schneider EB, Haut ER, Stevens KA, Cornwell EE 3rd, MacKenzie EJ, Efron DT. Influence of the National Trauma Data Bank on the study of trauma outcomes: is it time to set research best practices to further enhance its impact? J Am Coll Surg. 2012; 214:756-768.

Galvagno SM Jr, Haut ER, Zafar SN, Millin MG, Efron DT, Koenig GJ Jr, Baker SP, Bowman SM, Pronovost PJ, Haider AH. Association between helicopter vs ground emergency medical services and survival for adults with major trauma. JAMA. 2012; 307:1602-1610.

Haider AH, Hashmi ZG, Zafar SN, Castillo R, Haut ER, Schneider EB, Cornwell EE 3rd, Mackenzie EJ, Efron DT. Developing Best Practices to Study Trauma Outcomes in Large Data Bases:  An Evidence Based Approach to Determine the Best Mortality Risk Adjustment Model.  J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2014; 76:1061-1069.

 

Research Interests

Dr. Efron’s research interests have been within the realm of regulation of inflammatory mediators of septic and post-injury states, particularly focusing on the role that statins play in this milieu. Dr. Efron carries additional interest in traumatic injury from interpersonal violence, measures of violence intensity, and trauma recidivism with an eye to prevention strategies.  He is active in teaching at all levels at the School of Medicine from medical students to post-graduate resident and fellow education as well as ongoing participation in national and international CME and maintenance of certification venues.

Clinical Specialty Details

Dr. Efron maintains an active clinical practice in the field of Acute Care Surgery.  His elective work includes primarily of complex abdominal wall reconstruction for patients with failure of prior hernia surgery, those with healing disorders (transplant and immunosuppression) and connective tissue diseases (such as Marfan’s and Ehlers-Danlos).

Awards and Affiliations

1994           Henry Randall Surgery Prize, Awarded to the outstanding medical student pursuing a career in Surgery, Brown University School of Medicine

2000           George Zuidema Award for outstanding resident basic science research, Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

2000           Upjohn Award Finalist, for outstanding clinical research by resident, Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

2001           Outstanding 4th-year Resident Award; for performance of clinical duties, Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

2002           Elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, Awarded as Chief Resident in Surgery, Johns Hopkins Univeristy Chapter

2011-2020  Baltimore Magazine "Top Doctor"

2011, 2013  G. Melville Williams Hero Award, Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

2014            Inductee, Miller-Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

2017            Physician of the Year Clinical Excellence Award, Johns Hopkins Hospital