Jan Rakinic, M.D.

Dr. Jan Rakinic is Chief of Colorectal Surgery and an Associate Professor of Surgery at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois. She earned her M.D. degree from Tulane University Medical School, New Orleans, LA and completed a General Surgery Residency at the University of Illinois-Chicago/Cook County Hospital Combined Program in General Surgery. One year during residency was spent performing research in the Trauma Surgery laboratory, and her work won the Harry M. Vars Research Award from the American Society for Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition for outstanding research by a young investigator in specialized nutrition research.

Her colon and rectal surgery training was completed at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA. After completing her fellowship, Jan remained on staff at Jefferson Medical College. In 2001, she moved to Illinois and assumed her current position as the Chief, Section of Colorectal Surgery. Dr. Rakinic also serves as the Program Director for a newly accredited Colorectal Surgery Residency at Southern Illinois University.

Jan is board certified in both general surgery and colon and rectal surgery and is an active participant in multiple surgical societies. She is an ad hoc reviewer of several journals and her contribution to the medical literature includes 22 peer-reviewed manuscripts and seven book chapters. She has made multiple presentations at national meetings and is an active researcher. She has served on and chaired multiple committees of the ASCRS and was the program co-chairman for the ASCRS national meeting as well as the Tripartite meeting in 2002.

Jan lives in Springfield with her daughter Alina, aged 12, who plays volleyball and her son Milan, aged 9, is into basketball and video games. When Jan is not raising her children and working, she enjoys gardening, sport scuba diving in locations with warm water, and is currently learning to speak Italian.

On behalf of the readers and staff of Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery, I sincerely thank Dr. Rakinic for serving as a Guest Editor and for providing us with a superb issue on Anal Cancer and Retrorectal Tumors.