Bio
Dr. James Chang is currently the Johnson & Johnson Distinguished Professor and Vice-Chair for Strategy & Development in the Department of Surgery at Stanford University. He previously served as Chief of Division of Plastic Surgery at Stanford, growing the Division from 5 to 25 faculty.
Dr. Chang graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences with joint degrees in Biology and Economics. He spent a year as a lecturer in English at the Beijing University of Science and Technology in Beijing, People’s Republic of China. Following this, he graduated from Yale Medical School with Alpha Omega Alpha and Cum Laude honors. From 1991 to 1993, he was a Sarnoff Laboratory Research Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center. He then completed a residency in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Stanford University Medical Center. Dr. Chang was a Clinical Instructor in Orthopedic Surgery and the Hand & Microsurgery Fellow at U.C.L.A. Medical Center from 1999-2000. He is currently Professor of Plastic Surgery and Orthopedic Surgery at Stanford University Medical Center. He is also an Attending Surgeon at Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital, with a comprehensive practice in pediatric hand surgery.
Dr. Chang has spent the majority of his career at Stanford where he is currently Professor of Plastic Surgery and Orthopedic Surgery at Stanford University Medical Center. Federally funded for 20+ years, his laboratory work involved translating tissue engineering concepts to reconstruction of tendon and bone in mutilated extremities. Dr. Chang's main surgical interests are in reconstructive surgery of the hand and extremities including microsurgical reconstruction. He also has interest in pediatric hand and microsurgery, and scleroderma surgery.
Dr. Chang is the Editor-in-Chief of the newest edition of Plastic Surgery (Elsevier), the authoritative six-volume textbook in the field. He was the Royal College of Surgeons Foundation traveling fellow and was awarded the 2006 Sterling Bunnell Traveling Fellowship by the ASSH. Dr. Chang was the Vice-Chair of the Plastic Surgery Residency Review Committee of the ACGME and a Secretary/Treasurer of the American Board of Plastic Surgery. In these positions, Dr. Chang has been very involved in the training and certification of plastic surgeons and hand surgeons on the national level. He was elected to the American Surgical Association in 2010. In 2018, Dr. Chang was President of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. In 2028, He will be President of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons. Dr. Chang has received numerous career honors, including the Weiland Medal for Research Achievement, the Green Medal for Mentor of the Year, the CSPS Academician of the Year Award, and the AAPS Basic Science Research Achievement Award.
Dr. Chang teaches at Stanford on many levels. His popular sophomore seminar, Surgical Anatomy of the Hand: From Rodin to Reconstruction, is the focal point of an exhibit at the Cantor Art Center in 2014. He has directly mentored over 100 Stanford medical students and is very involved in the training of plastic surgery residents and hand fellows. As CMO of ReSurge International (formerly Interplast), Dr. Chang manages the service and educational programs of this charitable organization that delivers reconstructive surgery to the underserved throughout the world.
