COLUMBUS – Jean R. Sumner, M.D., dean of Mercer University School of Medicine, recently appointed Maurice M. Solis, M.D., professor of surgery, as senior associate dean for the Columbus campus, effective Nov. 1.
Dr. Solis graduated from the University of Florida, earning a Bachelor of Science with honors in chemistry. He received his medical degree from Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University and went on to complete his general surgery residency in Macon at Medical Center of Georgia, now called Navicent Health, where he also served as chief resident. He completed his peripheral vascular surgery fellowship at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and fellowship training in endovascular surgery at Southern Illinois University.
Board-certified by the American Board of Surgery in both vascular surgery and general surgery, Dr. Solis most recently served as chief of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery at South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta. Prior to that, he served as the medical director of peripheral vascular services at the Medical Center of Central Georgia and director of peripheral vascular services at Macon CardioVascular Institute, now called the Vascular Institute at Navicent Health.
Dr. Solis has had a longstanding relationship with Mercer University School of Medicine, beginning in 1988 when he served as an instructor of surgery. Since then, he has held many faculty positions at the School of Medicine, including assistant professor of surgery, associate professor of surgery and clinical professor of vascular surgery. In 2001, Dr. Solis also served as associate professor of surgery at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
“We are honored to have Dr. Maurice Solis join Mercer University School of Medicine as senior associate dean of the Columbus campus,” said Dr. Sumner. “Dr. Solis has impeccable credentials. He is highly regarded by colleagues, patients and others who know him for his surgical skills, leadership and excellence in teamwork. He joins our incredibly talented basic science and clinical faculty on this campus.”
Dr. Solis is an active member of the Georgia Vascular Society, where he served as president from 2015-2016 and president-elect from 2014-2015. He is also a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and Society for Vascular Surgery. Dr. Solis has published and presented numerous abstracts, posters and papers and co-authored book chapters on vascular surgery and peripheral vascular disease.
Dr. Solis follows Alice House, M.D., founding campus dean in Columbus, who “has done outstanding work and laid a solid foundation for continued growth,” Dr. Sumner said. Dr. House will remain in Columbus and continue her work as senior associate dean of admissions and student affairs.
Dr. Solis is married to Lee Asbill Johnson. They enjoy traveling, especially hiking the national parks and walking vacations in the United Kingdom and Europe.
About Mercer University School of Medicine (Macon, Savannah and Columbus)
Mercer University’s School of Medicine was established in 1982 to educate physicians and health professionals to meet the primary care and health care needs of rural and medically underserved areas of Georgia. Today, more than 60 percent of graduates currently practice in the state of Georgia, and of those, more than 80 percent are practicing in rural or medically underserved areas of Georgia. Mercer medical students benefit from a problem-based medical education program that provides early patient care experiences. Such an academic environment fosters the early development of clinical problem-solving and instills in each student an awareness of the place of the basic medical sciences in medical practice. The School opened a full four-year campus in Savannah in 2008 at Memorial University Medical Center. In 2012, the School began offering clinical education for third- and fourth-year medical students in Columbus. Following their second year, students participate in core clinical clerkships at the School’s primary teaching hospitals: Medical Center, Navicent Health in Macon; Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah; and Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital and St. Francis Hospital in Columbus. The School also offers master’s degrees in family therapy, preclinical sciences and biomedical sciences and a Ph.D. in rural health sciences.
