Transplant Surgery · Outcomes Research · Surgical Education

James L.
Rogers, MD

2LT, United States Army  ·  Medical Student & Incoming General Surgery Resident
VUSM · Madigan Army Medical Center · Starting Residency July 2026

Surgeon-scientist in training with 48 peer-reviewed publications across transplant surgery, surgical oncology, health disparities, and surgical education — driving evidence-based, equity-centered surgical care.

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48
Peer-Reviewed Publications
12
h-index
460
Citations
15
i10-index
James L. Rogers, MD — 2LT, US Army
James L. Rogers, MD
2LT · US Army · VUSM · Madigan Army Medical Center
🎓 Google Scholar 🔬 PubMed 🆔 ORCID ✉️ Email

About

Clinician–Scientist in Surgery & Outcomes Research

I am a medical student at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) and a 2LT in the United States Army, entering categorical general surgery residency at Madigan Army Medical Center in July 2026. My academic record includes 48 peer-reviewed publications, an h-index of 12, and 460 citations — spanning transplant surgery, surgical oncology, health disparities, neuro-oncology, and surgical education.

My transplant-focused work includes the first reported case of sequential coronary artery bypass grafting combined with bilateral lung–liver transplantation (JTCVS Techniques, 2025), multi-center analyses of CMV transmission following HCV-viremic donor kidney transplantation, implementation of APOL1 genetic testing chatbots in living donor evaluation, and telehealth integration for pre- and post-transplant care pathways.

I also maintain active lines of inquiry in surgical oncology (colorectal cancer disparities, thyroid cancer value analysis), global and military surgery (CERAB for vascular trauma, military surgical education), and evidence-based surgical practice. I conduct statistical analyses using R/RStudio, SPSS, and national registry datasets including UNOS/OPTN, NSQIP, and CDC WONDER.

Transplant Surgery Organ Allocation Surgical Outcomes Health Disparities Surgical Education Military Surgery UNOS/OPTN NSQIP R / RStudio

Research

Research Focus & Publications

My work spans four major domains, unified by a commitment to equity-informed, data-driven surgical science.

🫀

Transplant Surgery & Organ Utilization

Multi-organ transplant outcomes, HCV-viremic donor recipients, living donor genetic risk (APOL1), telehealth in transplant follow-up, and equity-centered organ allocation policy research using UNOS/OPTN data.

📊

Surgical Oncology & Health Disparities

Racial and socioeconomic disparities in GI and colorectal cancer outcomes, overtreatment in early-stage disease, thyroid cancer value analysis, and anastomotic complications in IBD and diverticulitis.

🎓

Surgical Education & Training

Military surgical education innovation, simulation-based training in spine and vascular surgery, neurosurgical workforce migration, and resident training pipelines — with a decade-long perspective on military surgical readiness.

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Global & Military Surgery

Stroke management in low-income and lower-middle-income countries, military healthcare outcomes (arthroplasty), CERAB for blunt abdominal aortic injury, and Long COVID clinical navigation.

Selected Publications

* denotes co-first authorship

View All on PubMed → ORCID: 0000-0002-4790-5152 →

Lab

Lab Members

Our collaborative research group spans transplant, oncology, and disparities research — welcoming medical students, residents, and research staff.

👨‍⚕️

James L. Rogers, MD

Principal Investigator
Transplant outcomes · Surgical disparities · Military surgery
👩‍🔬

[Lab Member Name]

Research Coordinator
UNOS/OPTN data · IRB coordination
👨‍💻

[Lab Member Name]

Medical Student Researcher
Cancer disparities · NSQIP analyses
👩‍🎓

[Lab Member Name]

Biostatistician
Survival analysis · R/SPSS · Risk modeling

Interested in joining? See the contact section or email directly.

Teaching & Mentorship

Education & Mentorship

I actively mentor medical students and junior researchers, with a focus on independent project ownership, methods training, and academic surgery career development.

🏥 Clinical Teaching

  • Medical student clerkship instruction, inpatient and OR settings
  • Junior resident operative teaching and case preparation
  • Anatomy and procedural simulation instruction
  • ABSITE prep facilitation for PGY-1/2 cohorts

🔬 Research Mentorship

  • MS3/MS4 research elective supervision (transplant & outcomes focus)
  • IRB application and data access request assistance
  • R/RStudio and SPSS coaching for clinical researchers
  • Manuscript preparation and journal submission guidance

📚 Education Innovation

  • Military surgical education curriculum development (2015–2025)
  • APSA ExPERT Spaced Learning visual abstract contributor
  • Virtual neuro-oncology journal club series (NIH/NCI)
  • Simulation-based surgical training model research

🤝 Mentorship Philosophy

  • Independent project ownership from day one
  • Structured check-ins and iterative manuscript feedback
  • Support for conference abstract submission and presentation
  • Career advising for academic surgery and military medicine tracks

News & Updates

Recent News

2026

CERAB for Blunt Abdominal Aortic Injury — J Vasc Surg Cases

New publication on covered endovascular reconstruction of the aortic bifurcation for traumatic vascular injury, with co-authors Cuneo, Kniery, and Causey.

2026

Military Surgical Education: A Decade of Innovation — J Surg Educ

Comprehensive 10-year analysis of innovation in military surgical education accepted in the Journal of Surgical Education, with Luo, Rodrigues, and Gallagher.

2026

White Paper: Improving Long COVID Clinical Encounters

Commissioned white paper with Sheon AR on improving clinical encounters and treatment navigation for Long COVID patients, commissioned by CompendiRx.

2025

First Combined Bilateral Lung–Liver Transplant with CABG — JTCVS Techniques

First reported case of sequential CABG combined with bilateral lung–liver transplantation. Co-first author with Petree BS et al., including Bacchetta, Karp, Montenovo, and Hoetzenecker.

2025

Entering General Surgery Residency — July 2026

Starting categorical general surgery residency at VUSM · Madigan Army Medical Center in July 2026, with focused research interests in transplant surgery and surgical outcomes.

2025

Book Chapter Published — Health Literacy

Chapter on "Specific methods and impact of improving health literacy" published in The Evolution of Health Literacy: Empowering Patients Through Improved Education (2nd ed.), Nova Science Publishers.

Curriculum Vitae

Education & Training

Training & Education

Jul 2026 – Jun 2032
General Surgery Residency
Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA
Categorical general surgery residency, US Army. Research focus in transplant surgery, surgical outcomes, and health equity. 2LT, Medical Corps.
2021 – 2026
Doctor of Medicine (MD) — Candidate
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN
48 peer-reviewed publications. h-index 12. 460 citations. USMLE Step 3 in progress.
2017 – 2021
Bachelor of Science
Undergraduate degree with focus on pre-medical sciences and research
Commission as 2LT, United States Army. Early research with NIH/NCI Neuro-Oncology Branch (2017–2021).
2019–2020
Postbaccalaureate Research Fellow
NIH/NCI Neuro-Oncology Branch, Bethesda, MD
CNS tumor natural history studies, virtual tumor boards, patient-reported outcomes in neuro-oncology. Mentors: Terri Armstrong PhD, Mark Gilbert MD.

Selected Honors & Service

  • 2021 Top-5 Outstanding Abstract — NINR-ONS-NCI Symptom Science Symposia
  • 2021 Invited Podium Presentation — Inaugural ONS-NCI-NINR Scientific Colloquium
  • 2020 Meritorious Conference Abstract — Society of Behavioral Medicine Annual Meeting
  • 2026 OPTN Contributor — Ad Hoc Disease Transmission Advisory Committee (HIV policy revisions)
  • — 2LT, United States Army — Active commission, Army Medicine pipeline

Professional Memberships

  • —American College of Surgeons (ACS)
  • —American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS)
  • —Association for Academic Surgery (AAS)
  • —Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) — past member

Technical Skills

  • StatsR / RStudio, IBM SPSS, Microsoft Excel
  • DataNSQIP, UNOS/OPTN, CDC WONDER, NIS, NCI CRIS
  • ClinNBCL ioPTH, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (certified)
  • OtherScientific manuscript preparation, IRB applications, GoAnimate/Vyond

Full CV and publications list available via academic profiles below.

PubMed Publications → ORCID Profile → Google Scholar →

Contact

Get In Touch

For research inquiries, mentorship requests, collaboration opportunities, or media — reach out below or email directly.

📧
Email
rogersjl1998@gmail.com
🏥
Institution
Department of Surgery · Madigan Army Medical Center / VUSM
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA
🆔
ORCID
0000-0002-4790-5152
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Academic Profiles
PubMed Author Page → ORCID Profile → Google Scholar Profile →