CASIT Governance and Collaboration

Biosketches

Erik Dutson, MD is the Associate Professor of Surgery, Executive Medical Director, CASIT, Director, UCLA MIS Fellowship. I have expertise in minimally invasive surgery, surgical robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, haptic feedback, telementoring, telesurgery, and surgical simulation/education. My current funded research interests are focused on technology development for telesurgery, assessment of minimally invasive surgical training, and haptic feedback in surgical robotics. I will lead the global project as part of my role as Executive Medical Director of CASIT, and have the required expertise and experience to provide clinical direction to each of the individual endeavors.

Areti Tillou, MD, MSEd is a Professor and full time academic surgeon specializing in trauma and acute care surgery in the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM). Following her training in general surgery at Baylor College of Medicine she completed fellowships in surgical critical care at Tulane and trauma surgery at University of Southern California (USC) and completed a Master’s program in Medical Education at USC.  Having served as the Associate Program Director for the Surgery Residency for 8 years, she was appointed as Vice Chair for Education in July 2013 and now oversees all educational activities for medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty in the Department of Surgery. She is primarily responsible for the resident teaching curriculum, including didactic sessions, dry skills labs, cadaver labs, and simulation sessions and oversees the medical student clerkship and surgical rotations, the visiting professor program, and weekly Morbidity and Mortality Conferences. In 2016 she assumed the role of Director of the new UCLA Department of Surgery Accredited Education Institute (AEI) which is part of the Center for the Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology (CASIT). This new state of the art facility is a designated educational and research laboratory that includes a robotic center, a telecommunications facility, and a simulation lab. Its mission is to advance surgical and interventional technology and to revolutionize surgical education and training. Dr. Tillou has a strong interest in medical education and research and has initiated longitudinal research collaboration with the UCLA School of Education. More recently, she was asked to co-chair the DGSOM Faculty Development Advisory Council and was appointed as Associate Designated Institutional Official (DIO) at DGSOM . In addition to her administrative and scholarly activities she is an active clinician with main focus of practice in trauma and acute care surgery with involvement in regional and national Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons