Clin Colon Rectal Surg 2019; 32(04): 221-222
DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1683851
Introduction to Guest Editor
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Michael A. Valente, DO, FACS, FASCRS

Scott R. Steele
1   Department of Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
17 June 2019 (online)

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Scott R. Steele, MD, MBA, FACS, FASCRS

Dr. Michael A. Valente is a staff Colon and Rectal Surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic and Assistant Professor of Surgery at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine in Cleveland, OH. A Cleveland “lifer,” Michael was born in Cleveland, received his undergraduate training in Gannon University in Erie, PA, majoring in biology, and performed his medical school training at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens, OH. Michael then completed his surgical residency at Summa Health System in Akron, OH, and subsequently completed a fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery at Grant Medical Center and The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, completing in 2011. We were lucky enough to lure Michael back to Cleveland here at the Cleveland Clinic, where he has served on our staff on both the West side at Fairview Medical Center and Main Campus since he completed his fellowship. After serving as the Associate Program Director for the Colon and Rectal Fellowship for a few years, Michael took the reins as Program Director in 2016, leading our training program ever since.

Michael is a busy clinician and academic surgeon, as well as an active researcher. He has been very involved in medical student and resident education. As well as being the Program Director for the fellowship, on a regional level he served as the President of both the Cleveland Surgical Society and The Ohio Valley Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. In addition, he has been involved on many national and local-regional society committees to include the Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee, Awards Committee, and CREST committee for ASCRS, and reviews for several peer-reviewed journals to include Diseases of the Colon and Rectum. Michael remains a productive researcher, with over 25 articles and book chapters to his credit, and has been all over the world as an invited lecturer, to include China, Japan, Philippines, Brazil, and Mexico.

Michael and his wife, Stephanie, have three children (Rocco [7], Francesca [5], and Arianna [2]). They enjoy doing everything together as a family including spending time outdoors, hiking, camping, gardening, and traveling. On a personal note, Michael is one of my best staff, both clinically and as a leader and motivator of those around him. He cares for his patients tremendously, as well as the fellows who he mentors. He truly embodies a servant leader. On behalf of the readers and staff of Clinics of Colon and Rectal Surgery, I sincerely thank Dr. Valente for serving as a Guest Editor and for providing us with a superb issue on the care for patients with complex Crohn's disease.