Dana Alexa Telem, MD

Dana A. Telem, MD, MPH, is the Section Head of General Surgery, the Associate Chair for Quality and Patient Safety, and the Lazar J. Greenfield Professor of Surgery. Dr. Telem completed her surgical training at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and her fellowship in Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Telem also completed a Master’s in Public Health in the Executive Master’s of Healthcare Management program at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

She serves on the editorial boards of Annals of Surgery and Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, is a Subject Editor for Surgical Endoscopy and a Section Editor for Hernia. Her research and commentaries have been published in several prominent journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and Annals of Surgery. She serves on the SAGES and Foundation for Surgical Fellowships Board of Governors, and holds key leadership positions across several organizations and societies focused on quality and patient safety, as well as diversity and inclusion.

Her clinical practice is devoted to minimally invasive therapies focused on hernia, benign diseases of the esophagus and morbid obesity.

General surgery, abdominal wall hernia, groin hernia, hiatal hernia, diaphragmatic hernia, benign disease of the esophagus, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), morbid obesity

University of Michigan Health participates with most health insurance plans.

Dr. Telem’s academic interests lie in health services research with a focus in implementation science. Specifically, the effective and sustainable adoption of evidence-based recommendations into actual practice. Dr. Telem receives research funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the National Institute of Health and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES).