Maria Citarella Russell MD

Dr. Maria Russell is an Associate Professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology. An Atlanta native, Dr. Russell graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and subsequently earned her Medical Doctor Degree from the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. She returned home to Atlanta to complete her General Surgery Residency at Emory, with the addition of a two-year research sabbatical in the Transplant Immunology Lab. Dr. Russell then moved to Houston for her Surgical Oncology Fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She was thrilled to return to Emory in 2012 as an attending physician.

Dr. Russell’s passion is working with gastroenterologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and pathologists to develop individual treatment plans for each of her patients. Her clinical practice focuses on complex gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary malignancies, as well as melanoma and sarcoma. Additionally, she is an expert in Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy (HIPEC) for advanced-stage malignancies. As a minimally invasive, robotic, and open surgeon, Dr. Russell is able to tailor her approach to surgery for the individual patient and disease process. Dr. Russell’s research interests include disparities research on the presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of patients with gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary malignancies. She has extensive publications and presentations on a national level.