Clifford S Cho
C Gardner Child Professor of Surgery
Professor of Surgery
Chief Medical Officer - Health Systems
Surgery
1500 East Medical Center Drive, Taubman Center 2210
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
[email protected]

Available to mentor

Clifford S Cho
Professor
  • About
  • Qualifications
  • Center Memberships
  • Research Overview
  • Recent Publications
  • About

    Dr. Cho is an Honors graduate of Brown University and AOA graduate of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He completed his general surgery residency and transplantation immunology postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, where he served as Chief Administrative Resident. He completed his surgical oncology fellowship at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where he served as Chief Administrative Fellow. He joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in 2006, where he was promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure and named the Ronald and Patricia Kissinger Professor of Surgical Oncology. He served as Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology, Associate Residency Program Director, and co-Director of the Gastrointestinal Disease Oriented Team in the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center. He moved to the University of Michigan in 2016 as the C. Gardner Child Professor of Surgery and Chief of the Division of Hepatopancreatobiliary and Advanced Gastrointestinal Surgery, and has held several administrative roles including Executive Director of the Cancer Network of West Michigan, Vice Chair of Surgical Oncology, and Ambulatory Clinical Care Chief at the University of Rogel Cancer Center. In 2024, he was appointed Chief Medical Officer at the University of Michigan Health West and received a joint appointment as Professor of Cell Biology at the Van Andel Institute.

    Dr. Cho’s academic focus is on hepatopancreatobiliary and gastrointestinal malignancies, cancer immunology, and the mentorship of clinical and research trainees. He has lectured on these academic interests in over 15 national and international visiting professorships and was named the James IV Traveler in 2014. He has published over 180 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters and currently serves on the editorial boards of Surgery and the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. He is the Principal Investigator of a National Cancer Institute-funded cancer immunology laboratory that is working to understand the immunostimulatory effects of a novel mode of non-invasive focused ultrasound tumor therapy called histotripsy. His laboratory has been continuously funded since 2006 by extramural support from the National Institutes of Health, Veteran's Administration, American College of Surgeons, and Central Surgical Association, and is a member of the National Cancer Institute Cellular Immunotherapy of Cancer study section. He has held a number of national academic leadership positions and is a member of over 15 surgical societies, including the American Surgical Association, James IV Surgical Society, Society of Clinical Surgery, Society of University Surgeons, and Surgical Biology Club II.

    Qualifications
    • Surgical Oncology Fellowship
      Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Surgery, 2006
    • Administrative Chief Fellow
      Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Surgery, 2006
    • General Surgery Residency
      University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Surgery, 2004
    • Administrative Chief Resident
      University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, 2004
    • Immunology Research Fellowship
      University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, 2001
    • Postgraduate Coursework
      Harvard University, Cambridge, 1992
    • ScB, Psychology
      Brown University, Providence, 1991
    Center Memberships
    • Center Member
      Global REACH
    • Center Member
      Rogel Cancer Center
    • Center Member
      MM-PKUHSC Joint Institute
    Research Overview

    Dr. Cho is the Principal Investigator of a cancer immunology laboratory that is working to understand the immunological and tumor microenvironmental effects of histotripsy focused ultrasound tumor therapy. He has led several clinical trials in novel cancer therapies, and his laboratory has been continuously funded since 2006 by extramural support from the National Institutes of Health, Veteran’s Administration, American College of Surgeons, and Central Surgical Association.

    Recent Publications See All Publications
    • Preprint
      Insulin-dependence as a Predictor of Shortened Cancer-specific Survival in Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors: A Multi-Institutional Study from the United States Neuroendocrine Study Group
      Mirza MB, Baechle JJ, Smith PM, Ali D, Dillhoff M, Poultsides G, Rocha FG, Cho CS, Winslow ER, Fields RC, Maithel SK, Idrees K. medRxiv, DOI:10.1101/2024.09.11.24313436
    • Journal Article
      The #HOPE4LIVER Single-Arm Pivotal Trial for Histotripsy of Primary and Metastatic Liver Tumors.
      Mendiratta-Lala M, Wiggermann P, Pech M, Serres-Créixams X, White SB, Davis C, Ahmed O, Parikh ND, Planert M, Thormann M, Xu Z, Collins Z, Narayanan G, Torzilli G, Cho C, Littler P, Wah TM, Solbiati L, Ziemlewicz TJ. Radiology, 2024 Sep; 312 (3): e233051 DOI:10.1148/radiol.233051
      PMID: 39225612
    • Journal Article
      Histotripsy: A Method for Mechanical Tissue Ablation with Ultrasound.
      Xu Z, Khokhlova TD, Cho CS, Khokhlova VA. Annu Rev Biomed Eng, 2024 Jul; 26 (1): 141 - 167. DOI:10.1146/annurev-bioeng-073123-022334
      PMID: 38346277
    • Journal Article
      Survival disparities in rural versus urban patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor: A multi-institutional study from the US neuroendocrine tumor study group.
      Mirza MB, Baechle JJ, Marincola Smith P, Dillhoff M, Poultsides G, Rocha FG, Cho CS, Winslow ER, Fields RC, Maithel SK, Idrees K. Am J Surg, 2024 Jul; 233: 125 - 131. DOI:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2024.03.003
      PMID: 38492993
    • Journal Article
      Preoperative anemia: impact on short- and long-term outcomes following curative-intent resection of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
      Xiang J-X, Nan Y-L, He J, Lopez-Aguiar AG, Poultsides G, Rocha F, Weber S, Fields R, Idrees K, Cho C, Maithel SK, Lv Y, Zhang X-F, Pawlik TM. J Gastrointest Surg, 2024 Jun; 28 (6): 852 - 859. DOI:10.1016/j.gassur.2024.03.014
      PMID: 38538480
    • Journal Article
      Accuracy and Prognostic Impact of Nodal Status on Preoperative Imaging for Management of Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors: A Multi-Institutional Study.
      Zhang N, He J, Maithel SK, Poultsides G, Rocha F, Weber S, Fields R, Idrees K, Cho C, Lv Y, Zhang X-F, Pawlik TM. Ann Surg Oncol, 2024 May; 31 (5): 2882 - 2891. DOI:10.1245/s10434-023-14758-9
      PMID: 38097878
    • Journal Article
      Low Prognostic Nutritional Index Is Common and Associated with Poor Outcomes following Curative-Intent Resection for Gastro-Entero-Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors.
      Xiang J-X, Qian Y-R, He J, Lopez-Aguiar AG, Poultsides G, Rocha F, Weber S, Fields R, Idrees K, Cho C, Maithel SK, Lv Y, Zhang X-F, Pawlik TM. Neuroendocrinology, 2024 114 (2): 158 - 169. DOI:10.1159/000534075
      PMID: 37703840
    • Journal Article
      ASO Visual Abstract: Accuracy and Prognostic Impact of Nodal Status on Preoperative Imaging for Management of Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors-A Multi-Institutional Study.
      Zhang N, He J, Maithel SK, Poultsides G, Rocha F, Weber S, Fields R, Idrees K, Cho C, Lv Y, Zhang X-F, Pawlik TM. Ann Surg Oncol, 2024 Jan 15; DOI:10.1245/s10434-023-14871-9
      PMID: 38225473