Samuel Matthew Alaish MD

Samuel M. Alaish, M.D., joined the Johns Hopkins Children's Center in 2015 to co-lead The Hopkins Resource for Intestinal Vitality and Enhancement (THRIVE), a multidisciplinary program dedicated to the study and care of children with short bowel syndrome, a condition marked by insufficient gut tissue or poor gut function due to acquired or congenital diseases. Dr. Alaish, an associate professor of surgery and surgical director of THRIVE, is a leading authority on pediatric intestinal disorders. Prior to Johns Hopkins, he worked at the University of Maryland, wherein in 2009 he launched a pediatric intestinal rehabilitation program. "Dr. Alaish has an impressive track record not only as a pediatric surgeon but also as a prolific researcher whose clinical encounters and surgical experiences have driven him to study the mechanisms behind the diseases he sees in clinic and in the operating room," says David Hackam, M.D., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins' pediatric surgeon-in-chief.

Dr. Alaish says he plans to pursue that answer at Johns Hopkins, both in the lab and in the clinic. The insights, he says, could lead to more effective and less toxic treatments for intestinal infections than traditional antibiotic therapy. In addition to promoting bacterial resistance and making pathogens impervious to drugs, antibiotics can encourage the growth of hard-to-treat fungal infections. "Being at Johns Hopkins will allow me to build on my previous research and clinical expertise, take my scientific pursuits to the next level, and, hopefully, benefit more patients and have a greater impact," Alaish says. "Improving patient outcomes through research in the lab and in the clinic is at the very heart of THRIVE."

A native of Maryland, Alaish earned his undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering from Duke University and medical degree from the University of Maryland. He completed a surgical internship and surgical residency at the Medical College of Virginia, followed by a fellowship in pediatric surgery at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. He went on to become an assistant professor of surgery at Columbia University in New York and at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Alas was division chief of pediatric surgery at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York until 2002.

In 2002, Alaish became director of the pediatric chest wall reconstruction program at the University of Maryland, where he also went on to found and lead the pediatric intestinal rehab program. He led the division of pediatric surgery at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore from 2006 until 2015. In addition to intestinal surgery, Alaish performs a variety of surgeries for newborn anomalies as well as esophageal, gastrointestinal, and biliary reconstruction and minimally invasive surgery on infants and children of all ages. He also specializes in the correction of chest wall deformities.