Thomas M. Scalea, MD
Honorable Francis X. Kelly Distinguished Professor of Trauma Surgery, Department of Surgery
Director, Program in Shock and Trauma
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Thomas Scalea is globally recognized as one of the most accomplished and influential trauma surgeons of his generation whose contributions in trauma research, education, and clinical practice have left a profound impact.
Dr. Scalea arrived at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) in 1997 as professor of surgery and chief of the Division of Trauma Surgery, a position he held until 2013. In 2002, he was named the Honorable Francis X. Kelly Distinguished Professor of Trauma Surgery. As director of UMSOM’s Program in Shock and Trauma, he has expanded its clinical services, including caring for emergency general surgery patients at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Since 1997, Scalea also has been the physician-in-chief of the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, the only freestanding trauma center in the nation, which cares for over 8,000 critically injured patients annually with a 96 percent survival rate. The trauma model he has helped design and refine is recognized nationally as the gold standard and emulated by trauma systems across the country.
Scalea remains a busy clinician, performing about 400 operative cases per year. He has been the chief for critical care services for the University of Maryland Medical System since 2012, building a regionwide critical care program composed of 18 intensive care units and more than 300 beds.
At UMSOM, he has developed and refined multidisciplinary trauma and critical care curricula that are emulated globally, integrating simulation, team-based resuscitation training, and systems-based education in ways that translate into improved patient outcomes. His trainees hold leadership positions in trauma centers around the world.
At Shock Trauma, he oversees all educational programs, which have increased exponentially over his tenure. Under Scalea’s leadership, the University of Maryland, Baltimore recently established the first Master’s in Trauma Sciences program in the United States.
In 2001, Scalea established the U.S. Air Force C-STARS Program, which has trained more than 4,000 Air Force personnel in refining trauma skills before deployment. Scalea also helped implement Stop the Bleed, a national initiative to train the public in lifesaving skills of hemorrhage control.
Scalea is a prolific scientific investigator who has published nearly 800 documents including articles, reviews, and book chapters on critical areas such as emergency medicine, shock trauma, and trauma surgery. He has over 40,000 citations and an h-index of 99, which is considered exceptional for the academic metric that measures the productivity and impact of a researcher’s body of work. He has been published in the highest-impact publications including JAMA and the New England Journal of Medicine. Over his career, he has obtained $75.5 million in research funding.
His many professional memberships include the Society of Critical Care Medicine, American Trauma Society, and Association for Academic Surgery. Last year, Scalea was inducted into the American College of Surgeons’ Academy of Master Surgeons Educators.
His many honors include the Eisenhower Award for Excellence in Teaching by an Attending Surgeon from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the Rao R. Ivatury Award, named for one of Scalea’s mentors who is credited with shaping the field of modern trauma surgery. Scalea has also received the Shock Trauma Hero Award 15 times.
