Emilie & Roland T. deHellebranth Professorship of Surgery

Emilie deHellebranthThe Professorship was established in 1979 through the gift of Mrs. Emilie deHellebranth (1914–2001), widow of the late Roland T. deHellebranth (d. 1979), a surgeon in private practice who, for many years until his retirement, was associated with the Graduate Hospital of Philadelphia.

The deHellebranth Professorship is the first endowed chair for a particular hospital affiliated with the Perelman School of Medicine. It satisfied the wishes of Dr. deHellebranth that the Department of Surgery at Graduate Hospital maintain a cooperative relationship with Penn for the purpose of strengthening both departments with respect to teaching, research and patient care.


 

Najjia N. MahmoudCurrent Chairholder

Najjia N. Mahmoud, MD

Najjia N. Mahmoud, MD, chief of the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery and a professor of Surgery, specializes in the treatment of advanced rectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and complicated diverticulitis.  She is particularly interested in outcomes of colorectal cancer surgery, and has established programs to prevent wound infection as well as to enhance the recovery of colon surgery patients.

Dr. Mahmoud received her BS from the University of Wisconsin and her MD from the Weill College of Medicine at Cornell.  She completed her General Surgery Residency at NY Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center and then her Fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery at the University of Minnesota. 

She is a Director of the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery.

Dr. Mahmoud has been acknowledged annually in Philadelphia magazine's Top Docs issue from 2010 through 2017, and has frequently been recognized by Best Doctors in America.
 

Previous Chairholders

  • Paul Nemir, Jr., MD 1980–1986
  • Max Cohen, MD 1987–1988
  • Charles C. Wolferth, Jr., MD 1992–1997
  • Robert D. Fry, MD 2004–2014