Surgical Oncology
MD, S. Hurt Watts Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery, Vice Chair of Research, Director, Multihospital Surgical Enterprise, Principal Investigator, NIH R01 Grants, Past President, Society of University Surgeons, Past President, Society of Asian…
Allan Tsung, MD, is the S. Hurt Watts Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Virginia, where he leads a multi-hospital surgical enterprise spanning academic and community settings. He is an academic surgical oncologist specializing in the multidisciplinary management of liver, bile duct, and pancreatic cancers, with expertise in robotic surgery.
Dr. Tsung leads a nationally recognized translational research program focused on how inflammatory and immune responses shape the tumor microenvironment and influence cancer progression, metastasis, and treatment response. His work integrates basic, translational, and clinical research, with an emphasis on developing strategies that improve outcomes and reduce disparities in surgical oncology care.
He has authored more than 370 peer-reviewed publications and has served as Principal Investigator on multiple NIH R01 grants, as well as mentoring numerous trainees and junior faculty who have gone on to successful academic careers. Deeply committed to mentorship and faculty development, Dr. Tsung has directed fellowship programs, served as Vice Chair of Research, and frequently teaches courses on scientific development and NIH grant writing.
Dr. Tsung is a past President of the Society of University Surgeons and the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons, and currently serves in national leadership roles across several major academic surgical organizations.
Selected publications from PubMed
Preoperative exercise induces anti-tumor Kupffer cells to prevent surgical stress-promoted colorectal cancer liver metastasis.
Zhang Y, Zhang Y, Shen C, Li J, Wang H, Hamad A, Cao C, El Moheb M, Wang Y, Xia Y, Cummins KC, Beane J, Ejaz A, Huang H, Tsung A, Zhang H
Cell Rep Med. 2026 Feb 17;7(2):102589 doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102589.
Ovarian tumor cells gain competitive advantage by actively reducing the cellular fitness of microenvironment cells.
Madan E, Palma AM, Vudatha V, Kumar A, Bhoopathi P, Wilhelm J, Bernas T, Martin PC, Bilolikar G, Gogna A, Peixoto ML, Dreier I, Araujo TF, Garre E, Gustafsson A, Dorayappan KDP, Mamidi N, Sun Z, Yekelchyk M, Accardi D, Olsen AL, Lin L, Titelman AA, Bianchi M, Jessmon P, Farid EA, Pradhan AK, Neufeld L, Yeini E, Maji S, Pelham CJ, Kim H, Oh D, Rolfsnes HO, Marques RC, Lu A, Nagane M, Chaudhary S, Gupta K, Gogna KC, Bigio A, Bhoopathi K, Mannangatti P, Achary KG, Akhtar J, Belião S, Das S, Correia I, da Silva CL, Fialho AM, Poellmann MJ, Javius-Jones K, Hawkridge AM, Pal S, Shree KS, Rakha EA, Khurana S, Xiao G, Zhang D, Rijal A, Lyons C, Grossman SR, Turner DP, Pillappa R, Prakash K, Gupta G, Robinson GLWG, Koblinski J, Wang H, Singh G, Singh S, Rayamajhi S, Bacolod MD, Richards H, Sayeed S, Klein KP, Chelmow D, Satchi-Fainaro R, Selvendiran K, Connolly D, Thorsen FA, Bjerkvig R, Nephew KP, Idowu MO, Kühnel MP, Moskaluk C, Hong S, Redmond WL, Landberg G, Lopez-Beltran A, Poklepovic AS, Sanyal A, Fisher PB, Church GM, Menon U, Drapkin R, Godwin AK, Luo Y, Ackermann M, Tzankov A, Mertz KD, Jonigk D, Tsung A, Sidransky D, Trevino J, Saavedra AP, Winn R, Won KJ, Moreno E, Gogna R
Nat Biotechnol. 2025 Nov;43(11):1833-1847 doi: 10.1038/s41587-024-02453-3.
Global survey on surgeon preference and current practice for pancreatic neck and body cancer with portomesenteric venous involvement.
Ishida H, Stoop TF, Oba A, Bachellier P, Ban D, Endo I, Franklin O, Fujii T, Gulla A, Hackert T, Halimi A, Hirano S, Jang JY, Katz MHG, Maekawa A, Nealon WH, Perri G, Ramia JM, Rompen IF, Satoi S, Schulick RD, Shrikhande SV, Tsung A, Wolfgang CL, Besselink MG, Del Chiaro M, Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, Asian-Pacific Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, Scientific and Research Committee of European-African Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, European Pancreatic Club, Pancreas Club, Japanese Society of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery, Korean Association of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery, International Collaborative Group on Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer, International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, Collaborators
HPB (Oxford). 2025 Jul;27(7):910-921 doi: 10.1016/j.hpb.2025.03.005.
Understanding the mechanism behind preoperative exercise therapy in patients with gastrointestinal cancers: a prospective randomized clinical trial.
Hamad A, Zhang H, Zhang Y, Shen C, Fa P, Huang H, Ejaz A, Tsung A
BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2025 Mar 14;17(1):50 doi: 10.1186/s13102-025-01094-6.
Neutrophil extracellular traps promote MASH fibrosis by metabolic reprogramming of HSC.
Xia Y, Wang Y, Xiong Q, He J, Wang H, Islam M, Zhou X, Kim A, Zhang H, Huang H, Tsung A
Hepatology. 2025 Mar 1;81(3):947-961 doi: 10.1097/HEP.0000000000000762.
Allan Tsung, MD, is the S. Hurt Watts Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Virginia, where he leads a multi-hospital surgical enterprise spanning academic and community settings. He is an academic surgical oncologist specializing in the multidisciplinary management of liver, bile duct, and pancreatic cancers, with expertise in robotic surgery. Dr. Tsung leads a nationally recognized translational research program focused on how inflammatory and immune responses shape the tumor microenvironment and influence cancer progression, metastasis, and treatment response. His work integrates basic, translational, and clinical research, with an emphasis on developing strategies that improve outcomes and reduce disparities in surgical oncology care. He has authored more than 370 peer-reviewed publications and has served as Principal Investigator on multiple NIH R01 grants, as well as mentoring numerous trainees and junior faculty who have gone on to successful academic careers. Deeply committed to mentorship and faculty development, Dr. Tsung has directed fellowship programs, served as Vice Chair of Research, and frequently teaches courses on scientific development and NIH grant writing. Dr. Tsung is a past President of the Society of University Surgeons and the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons, and currently serves in national leadership roles across several major academic surgical organizations.
With Society of Asian Academic Surgeons
Published
Feb 2026
Welcome and Introduction – Dr. Steven D. Wexner (USA) and Dr. Tracy Wang (USA)Implicit Bias and the Model-Minority Myth – Dr. Tracy Wang (USA)Mentorship and Sponsorship from residency to retirement – Dr. Anai Kothari (USA) and Dr. Jennifer Tseng (USA)Allyship and Advocacy by Affinity Societies – Dr. Kasper Wang (USA) and Dr. Susan Tsai (USA)Addressing health care disparities among Asian Americans – Dr. Lillian Kao (USA)Addressing racial disparities by Research design – Dr. Ankush Gosain (USA)Developing diversity in national and international surgical leadership – Dr. Quan-Yang Duh (USA)Discussion –All faculty moderated by Dr. Eugene Kim (USA) and Dr. Allan Tsung (USA)
Published
Sep 2021
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