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Dr. Richard Whitlock, a surgical resident in his second year of dedicated research at 7m��Ƶ, was awarded the 2020 American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA) M. Judah Folkman Memorial Award, for Best Podium Presentation in Clinical Science, for his research, “The Use of Real-time Indocyanine Green-guided Near-infrared Imaging During Partial Hepatectomy for the Treatment of Pediatric Liver Cancer.” 

The study examined the early experience of using near infrared (NIR) technology in the intraoperative visualization of pediatric liver tumors and their metastases. This award is presented by the APSA board of governors and program committee and the Association of Pediatric Surgery Training Directors (APSTPD).

The M. Judah Folkman Memorial Award was created in honor of Dr. M. Judah Folkman for his legacy of leadership in the APSA. The APSA and the APSTPD present the award for outstanding research presentations given during the APSA Annual Meeting.  

Award recipients must be residents or fellows currently enrolled in a training program. Two winners are selected for best podium presentations, one in basic science and one in clinical categories. 

Dr. Whitlock, originally from the Mississippi Gulf Coast, completed both medical school and a master’s of science from the University of Mississippi, School of Medicine, in Jackson, Miss. His current research is in pediatric surgical oncology, with a particular focus on the identification of novel therapies in refractory hepatoblastoma and outcomes research in the study of pediatric patients with solid tumors undergoing surgical resection. Whitlock’s position in the lab is funded by the Macy Easom Cancer Research Foundation Surgical Scientist Fellowship grant given to the Pediatric Surgical Oncology Laboratory. This research is conducted under the guidance of his mentors Dr. Sanjeev Vasudevan and Dr. Sarah Woodfield, in the Pediatric Surgical Oncology Laboratory at Texas Children’s Hospital. Dr. Vasudevan is an associate professor in surgery and pediatrics at 7m��Ƶ and an attending surgeon in the Pediatric Surgery service at Texas Children’s Hospital. Dr. Woodfield is an assistant professor of surgery in the Division of Pediatric Surgery at 7m��Ƶ.