John F. Boggess, MD

After finishing college, I enrolled in pharmacy school. I spent a summer working with the abdominal transplant team in Detroit, Michigan. My first experience in the operating room (OR) was watching a kidney transplant. I found it remarkable the impact that the surgeon and the team had on this individuals’ life. That specific moment inspired me to enroll in medical school and eventually surgery. Seeing a surgeon is a stressful time in someone’s life. Being a part of an individual’s journey is truly a privilege and I take this responsibility seriously. In many instances, I will see a patient for many years, long beyond their initial surgery. As such, it is important to me to get to know my patients and their families and to be available to them throughout their journey. I enjoy all aspects of colorectal surgery. My specific interests include inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, and diverticulitis. When I am not with patients, I enjoy spending time with family and friends. I especially enjoy travelling, seeing new places and new cultures. I enjoy being outdoors and hiking.

I am a urologist who specializes in taking care of patients with genitourinary cancers and runs a translational research lab. With the various treatment options available for patients with urologic cancers, I enjoy working with patients to identify the treatment choice that optimizes both their cancer outcome and personal goals. My research focuses on using genomic analysis of bladder and kidney tumors to learn more about alterations in the tumor and surrounding cells to improve treatment decisions and patient outcomes.

I have been an active member of surgical teams at various institutions including serving as an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Arizona, where I was actively involved in starting a new intestinal transplant program. I returned to Georgetown University Hospital and its Transplant Institute, where I was the founding director of an autologous islet cell transplant program and was promoted to Associate Professor of Surgery. I moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2016 as Surgical Director of liver transplantation, initiating a new Chronic Pancreatitis and autologous islet cell transplant program which I currently direct. The program emphasis is on recurrent and chronic pancreatitis as well as islet cell auto-transplantation, along with other complex pancreatic disorders including cystic diseases and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN).