Richard Berri graduated from ULS in 1992. He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Michigan and is a graduate of Wayne State University Medical School. Dr. Berri did his residency at St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit, and completed a surgical oncology fellowship at The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the Society of Surgical Oncology. RICHARD BERRI ‘92, MD FACS Chief of Surgical Oncology, Medical Director of the Ascension Michigan Oncology service line, and Director of the Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) Program
What is your day-to-day life like in your current role? As the Chief of Surgical Oncology and the Medical Director of Ascension Michigan’s cancer program which sees 7,000 patients annually, I perform surgeries for cancers of the abdominal area, including but not limited to the pancreas, liver and stomach, appendix, ovary and colon. I trained in this specialty at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, and received specific training performing Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) procedures. These procedures involve removing the cancer with cytoreductive surgery and delivering a heated chemotherapy solution directly into the abdomen. I lead a group of physicians and administrators in this role constantly working on ways to help patients locally, regionally and nationally with a cancer diagnosis. I am also the director of the HIPEC program, which I established at the Van Elslander Cancer Center in 2011. This was the first HIPEC program in Michigan and has since grown into one of the highest volume programs in the country. What does the future of surgical oncology look like, and how are doctors playing a role in that? There have been dramatic improvements in just the last five years, and that pace of development will continue. We are in an era of precision medicine. From a cancer perspective, treatment is very personalized and based on an individual’s specific cancer.
The treatment is no longer ‘one size fits all,’ but is tailored to target the unique cancer cells of each person. The role of surgery is expanding, which results in additional treatment opportunities. We are seeing surgical procedures being done on cancers that were not considered removable in the past. Furthermore, we are now using minimally invasive or Robotic surgery to remove cancers that traditionally would have required large open incisions. What do you think makes the ULS community unique? What separates it from other schools? The level of individual attention that students receive at ULS really differentiates it from other school communities. There were so many opportunities for one-on-one attention, and that was so helpful to identify barriers and challenges to learning early on. You could address them in high school rather than discovering them in college or later in life. It is now an honor for me to have my two boys, Richard and Nicolas attend ULS and see them experiencing what I did years ago. My wife, Stephanie has been extremely involved in all aspects of the school and we have enjoyed becoming a real part of the school community. Finally, it has been an honor for me to now serve on the Board of Trustees to help to continue to lead our school toward success.
Who are some of the faculty, staff and school leaders you looked up to while at ULS? I played soccer during all seven years I attended ULS, so it’s safe to say that David Backhurst had a big impact on me as my soccer coach, mentor and teacher. I also really enjoyed my time in John Bandos’ science class and Edward Mott’s Spanish class. Coach Chuck Wright ‘66 GPUS also was a great mentor. How did ULS help prepare you for your career? ULS provided me with a foundation for learning and gave me not only knowledge, but discipline. What I learned on Cook Road was instrumental as I moved forward through both the University of Michigan and then to medical school at Wayne State University. In fact, during Upper School I was able to shadow a primary care doctor at his practice, and this was especially impactful as it made me realize that I wanted to be a doctor. Additionally, being able to participate in so many different activities at ULS taught me teamwork and leadership skills that were vital for my work in later years. For example, I currently lead a clinical and administrative multidisciplinary
team that includes physician specialists, nurses, and many
other members of the healthcare team who work together and are completely dedicated to ensuring the best possible quality of care and successful outcomes for our patients.
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