important clinical trials and has had research funding throughout his career to support his laboratory research from the National Institutes of Health , the Department of Defense , the American Cancer Society and other funding agencies .
Over the years , Dr . McMasters has held countless leadership positions in professional organizations across the country . He served as President of the Southeastern Surgical Congress , the Western Surgical Association , the Southern Surgical Association , the Society of Surgical Chairs and the Society of Surgical Oncology . He is the current Treasurer of the American Surgical Association . Since 2018 , he has served as Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Surgical Oncology , the premier journal in that specialty . His list of committees and awards is extensive – to say that he is involved in organized medicine would be an understatement .
By his side for all of it have been his wife and sons . In a unique set of circumstances , he met his wife during his first year of residency training . “ When I was an intern , I met a sassy ICU nurse who treated me with all due condescension and derision . Romantically , we met over a patient with gastrointestinal bleeding amidst the powerful smell of melena , raw and pungent ,” he said .
The moment must have been magical , as they were married in 1992 before the end of residency . After her career as an RN , Beth went to law school at UofL and is now a medical malpractice defense attorney . “ She is very busy , smart and talented , and is more successful in her field than I am in mine .”
They had three sons , Austin , Steven and Owen . Austin is enrolled in the PhD program in Immunology at UofL and Steven went to culinary school at Sullivan and has worked as a chef at several restaurants in town . He and his wife Beth have two children , Charlotte , 3 , and Bennett Owen , 10 months . Owen was a bright , funny , enthusiastic kid - a demon poker player who loved to skateboard and snowboard . He had a zest for life when he was taken too soon
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