Dr. L.D. Britt's Biography
L.D. Britt, MD, MPH, D.Sc (Hon), FACS, FCCM
FRCSEng (Hon), FRCSEd (Hon), FWACS (Hon), FRCSI (Hon), FCS(SA) (Hon), FRCS(Glasg) (Hon)
Dr. Britt is a general and acute care surgeon, professor of surgery, and chair of the Department of Surgery at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia. Dr. Britt is a leader in academic surgery and has received numerous awards for his outstanding contributions to medical education, including the Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Educator Award, the highest teaching award in medicine given by the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Dr. Britt has held leadership positions in many organizations, including being a Director of the American Board of Surgery, a past chair of the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons and past President of the American College of Surgeons. He has also been President of the Southern Surgical Association, Southeastern Surgical Congress, American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, Halsted Society, Society of Surgical Chairs, and others.
“Whether we consider ourselves members of the
‘House of Surgery’ or citizens of the ‘Village of Surgery’
where there are housing neighborhoods, we have an unbreakable contract with society to provide optimal care for the surgical patient.”
L.D. Britt, MD, MPH, D.Sc (Hon), FACS, FCCM
FRCSEng (Hon), FRCSEd (Hon), FWACS (Hon), FRCSI (Hon), FCS(SA) (Hon), FRCS(Glasg)(Hon)
is an internationally recognized educator and leading
general and acute care surgeon.
Dr. Britt is the first African-American in the nation to have
an endowed chair in surgery.
He is the Executive Director of
the Society of Black Academic Surgeons.
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Dr. Britt was awarded the U.S. Surgeon General’s medallion for his outstanding achievements in medicine. The Honorable Regina Benjamin, MD, the 18th U.S. Surgeon General, presented this award at a formal ceremony. Dr. Britt was also appointed to the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar Program National Advisory Committee. The National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Medicine (in collaboration with the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture) featured Dr. Britt for his contributions to academic surgery. President George W. Bush recognized Dr. Britt’s leadership role in medicine and nominated him to the Board of Regents of the Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, and his nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate. At the end of his tenure, Dr. Britt was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.
Dr. L.D. Britt is the author of more than 220 peer-reviewed scientific publications, over 50 chapters/non-peer-reviewed articles, and 3 books, including a recent edition of the highly touted Acute Care Surgery (Lippincott, Williams & Wilkens, Medford, NJ). He serves on numerous editorial boards, including the Annals of Surgery, Journal of the American College of Surgeons (Deputy Editor), American Journal of Surgery (Associate Editor), JAMA Surgery, Shock, Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, World Journal of Surgery, and others. In addition, he is a reviewer for the New England Journal of Medicine.
An active participant in the community, Dr. Britt has received numerous awards for public service, including recently being honored with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award and the Colgate Darden Scouter Citizen of the Year Award. Atlanta Post recently highlighted him as one of the “The Top 21 Black Doctors in America.” Ebony magazine listed him as one of the most influential African Americans in the nation. Having recently been awarded an Honorary Fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons of Glasgow, Dr. Britt now has the rare distinction of receiving the highest honor given by each of the four Royal Colleges in the United Kingdom – England, Edinburg, Ireland, and Glasgow.
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Dr. Britt, author of the term “Acute Care Surgery” and one of the principal architects of this emerging specialty, was the 2013 recipient of the prestigious Roswell Park Medal. He was honored for his major contributions to American surgery. At the 2015 annual meeting of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, Dr. Britt was bestowed the coveted title of “Master of Critical Care Medicine” (MCCM) by the American College of Critical Care Medicine.
In 2015, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe appointed Dr. Britt to the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia. Also, the Southern Surgical Association awarded Dr. Britt the organization’s highest honor – Honorary Fellowship – at its 2015 annual meeting.
In the spring of 2016, Dr. Britt was awarded the Urban League of Hampton Roads Professor Marian Capps Memorial Award for his accomplishments in community service through education. At the 148th commencement at Howard University Dr. Britt was conferred an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Science). His co-honorees included President Barack Obama, activist and award-winning actor Cicely Tyson, and Ambassador Dawson. The summer of 2016 serendipitously, Dr. Britt conducted his 200th visiting professorship at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, IL (where Dr. Britt completed his residency training). He was the inaugural John A. Barrett, M.D. lecturer that kicked off the 50th anniversary celebration for Cook County Hospital Trauma Unit.
Most recently (and effective October 1, 2016), Dr. Britt was elected to the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine). He is the first and only faculty member from his institution to receive this distinction – considered one of the highest honors in the field of health and medicine. Dr. Britt was recently awarded, as the Principal Investigator (PI), a multimillion dollar NIH-R01 research grant (1 R01 MD011695-01).
"It has always been our goal to have the scholarship be able to be given out in perpetuity," said L.D. Britt, MD, MPH, chair and Brickhouse Professor of surgery. "I'm thrilled that the Hampton Roads community has supported this goal."
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