Dr. Elizabeth McConnell - Board Certified Colorectal Surgeon -Text-only About My Practice

McConnell Colorectal Center

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Colonoscopy, Surgical Procedures, Colorectal Diseases, and Anal Diseases

About Us

Dr. Elizabeth McConnell, MD, FACS, FASCRS

Dr. McConnell graduated from the University of Utah School of Medicine in 1992 with her M.D. She completed her colon and rectal fellowship with special emphasis in immunological oncology in 2000 at the Mayo Clinic - Rochester (MN). In 2004, she received her Board Certification in Colon and Rectal Surgery. She has been practicing in the Phoenix, AZ area since 2000 and has been named as one of the "Top Docs" in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

She specializes in:

Laparoscopic Colon and Rectal Resections
Anorectal Surgery
Colonoscopy

She is a Fellow of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (FASCRS), and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS).

Nursing Staff - Coming Soon

Office Staff - Coming Soon

Hospital Affiliations

Dr. McConnell is affiliated with the following hospitals and surgical centers:

St. Joseph's Hospital
Arrowhead Hospital
Banner Thunderbird Hospital
Banner Good Samaritan Hospital
Arizona Outpatient Surgery
St. Joseph's Outpatient Surgery
Arrowhead Pain and Endoscopy Center
Banner Good Samaritan Surgicenter
Banner Thunderbird Surgicenter
The Surgicenter

Dr. McConnell's Biography

I completed my residency in General Surgery in July of 1997. I began my fellowship in Colon and Rectal Surgery in July of 2000 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. While there, I invested a great deal of time in research and completed my fellowship with a special emphasis in Immunologic Oncology Research.

I always dreamed of moving to Arizona and living in the desert. After 3 years, in the cold of Minnesota, I needed to thaw-out. I joined the staff of the Mayo Clinic Scottsdale and wrote several papers and book chapters. The chapter which I am most proud is on Rectal Cancer which is my research area of interest. I preformed numerous laparoscopic and open cancer resections while at the clinic.

I left Mayo Clinic accepting a position as research faculty at Arizona State University where I still hold an appointment. Throughout this time I continued with group clinical practice and in January of 2005 opened my own office specializing in diseases of the anus, colon and rectum.

I received a pleasant surprise within weeks of opening my solo practice. The surprise – the physicians of the Thunderbird group wanted me to take care of their patients on a more formal basis and join their group. I had worked with patients referred to me by the physicians at the Thunderbird Clinic for many years. I had found their patients to be well taken care of with the appropriate treatments already in place. Successful surgery requires excellent preoperative care and preparation, which the Thunderbird physicians provide. It was my privilege to accept their offer to affiliate with their practice for the treatment of colon and rectal conditions for their patients.

We have had the private practive open since January of 2005. Within one year we have over 300 refering physicians, nurse practioners and physician assistants from all over the state (a few even outside of the state). Each month the practice continues to grow and our network of collegues and friends continue to bless us with new patient.

I have brought the first Three Dimensional Ultrasound to the State of Arizona for use in diagnosis for appropriate treatment of invasive rectal cancer as well as diagnosis of sphincter function for incontinence and treatment of complex fistulas. I continue my research affiliation with ASU with special emphasis in immunology, particularly glycosylation, patterns of proteins of cancer patients. I have a grant from the National Institute of Health, which provides funding for this research.

Dr. McConnell's Curriculum Vitae

Medical School:

University of Utah Medical School 1988-1992

Residency:

General Surgery San Joaquin General Hospital 1992-1997
Research Fellowship Immunology Mayo Clinic 1997-1999
Colon and Rectal Surgery Mayo Clinic 1999-2000

Board Certifications:

American Board of Surgery
American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery

Affiliations:

Fellow American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons
Fellow American College of Surgeons
American Association of Academic Surgeons
Association of Women Surgeons
American Medical Association
Arizona Medical Associations
Society of Alimentary and Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgery
North Central Cancer Treatment Group (Former Member)
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (Former Member)

Research Experience:

August 2002 - present: Co-investigator, Arizona State University, under the direction of Lokesh Joshi, PhD. Development and preclinical testing of cancer bearing transgenic mice with novel immune cancer therapeutics. Specifically the bioengineering and development of macrophage activating factor to stimulate the immune system to recognize cancer.

September 2000 - August 2002: Co-investigator, Mayo Foundation Scottsdale, under the direction of Sandra Gendler, PhD. Development and preclinical testing of cancer bearing transgenic mice with novel immune cancer therapeutics. Specifically the development of dendritic cell/tumor cell fusion vaccines that provide stimulation for the formation of memory cytotoxic T cells.

June1997 - June 1999: Research Fellow, Mayo Foundation, under the direction of H. Nelson, M.D. Development and preclinical testing of novel immune cancer therapeutics. Specifically the development of bispecific antibodies that target tumor cell surface antigens and lymphocyte activation molecules to recruit the cellular arm of the immune system.

June 1991 - May 1992: NIH Student Research Grant, University of Utah Department of Immunology, under the direction of Ann Shigeoka, M.D. The release of the cytokines interferon granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GMCSF) upon neutrophil activation.
June 1988 June 1989: Research Assistant, University of Utah Department of Anatomy, under the direction of Henry Yip, PhD. Localization of nerve growth factor receptors in primary cultures of neural crest cells from chick embryo neural tubes.

May 1986 - May 1989: Research Liaison, Howard Hughes Genetics Institute, under the direction of Ray White, PhD, Peter O 'Connell, PhD, Ray Lephard, PhD. Genetic localization studies on familial polyposis, cystic fibrosis, and prophuria cutanea tardiff.

Honors/Awards:

Participant – July 2002 AACR/ASCO Workshop on Methods in Clinical Cancer Research
Vail, Colorado

Best Research Presentation, September 1999
Minnesota Surgical Society Spring Meeting

Best Research Presentation, May 1999
Tripartite Meeting of the American, British and Australian
Societies of Colon and Rectal Surgery

Best Research Presentation, November 1998
Minnesota Surgical Society Spring Meeting

Best Research Presentation, August 1998
Northwest Colon and Rectal Surgical Society

Best Research Presentation, September 1997
Minnesota Surgical Society Spring Meeting

William Brock Research Award, July 1997

Covey Leadership Training

NIH Biomedical Research Support Grant

Dean's Research Advisory Committe

Arizona "Top Doc" 2007

Arizona "Top Doc" 2008

Arizona "Top Doc" 2009